Dysfunctional
by shygirl1
Summary: AU. The life of Alec and his unit at Manticore. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: This fic is part of my "Together" AU fic series. I've made references to how Alec's, Biggs', and Sasha's unit back at Manticore was dysfunctional in "Together," "All of Us," and "What's Next?" and I decided that I would go and explain that whole story of their unit. This will be darker than my other fics and because of that, it's rated M instead of T. There'll be some more adult-type issues and things like that in this fic. Also, Alec, Biggs, Sasha, and any other transgenic that had been named either on the show or in one of my fics will be referred at least for now by their designation (So nobody gets confused, Biggs' designation is 511). Anyway, enjoy it! This starts in June of 2010, about a year after the Pulse.

"Not bad, buddy," 494 said to 511 as he barely managed the punch that 511 had thrown. He ducked a kick and then swung 511 over his hip and down to the mats. "I got you again."

"Big deal," 511 said. "My success rate against you in sparring is only about one in five at best. That isn't counting draws as successes, though."

"Whatever you want to think," 494 said. They looked over to where 121 had knocked 908 to the ground. "For our commanding officer, 908 can't fight."

"908 can fight, just not against 121," 511 pointed out. "121 is better at martial arts than 908. You know, you'd think that with all of that anger and rage and whatever else is in 908's head that she could channel it and maybe beat 121 for once but it never happens."

"You don't have to show off the fact that you aced Psychology," 494 said.

"You don't have to show off the fact that you aced everything else," 511 retorted, but he grinned and 494 did also. "Seriously, 908 still hasn't gotten over getting sent to Psy Ops for three months when those X5s from Wyoming escaped more than a year ago. You've bounced back and both you and 121 were there for twice as long. Even 121 is almost back to her old self. She's probably as much as her old self as she'll ever be by now, I think."

494 nodded. "Yeah."

"494, 511, no chatting," the trainer said. "Wait until lunch before you talk freely." He started to turn to one of the other pairs, but he saw a tech waiving to get his attention and walked over. He listened to the tech for a few minutes and nodded and walked back over to the X5s. "Okay, we're ending class early today. Apparently, Director Renfro wants all of you little maggots to report to her office immediately."

"Sir, yes, sir!" they all said in unison. They saluted the trainer and lined back up and marched out of the gym and to Director Renfro's office. After waiting for a few moments, they were allowed into the office and somehow all eighteen of them managed to form a perfect line across from Director Renfro's desk despite the relative lack of space.

"X5 Unit 3 reporting as ordered, ma'am!" 908 said.

"At ease, all of you," Renfro said. She waited until they had fallen back into the position. "I'm glad that all of you are here. I have been, among other things, reviewing the performances of all of you since I arrived here in January. X5-908 and X5-494, step forward." 908 and 494 stepped forward. "908, you have been commanding officer of this unit from day one, correct?" She picked up a folder from her desk and flipped through it. "Your leadership skills are solid, but not remarkable. Your score on the group missions test that you took in October of 2006 was likewise very good and well above the passing score, but it was also not remarkable. You're record on missions is very good. No failures, everything that you ordered or were ordered to do executed efficiently. You have a tendency to stick a little too close to the book, but nothing to be worried about and your mission record does speak for itself." She put the folder back down on her desk.

"I wonder what the point of this is," 121 said barely loud enough for 494 and 511 to hear her.

Renfro picked up another file off of her desk and looked through that one. "494, it says here that you have been second-in-command of this unit since April of 2007 when you took over that role from X5-786. The leadership skills that you have displayed so far have been quite remarkable. Despite missing six months of training last year because of your precautionary stay in Psychological Operations, you, and 121 as well, made those months up remarkably quickly. You excel in every one of your classes and exercises and you hold the current record high score for this facility for the group missions test. Your record on the few missions that you have been on so far has been exemplary." She set the folder back on her desk. "Effective immediately, I am promoting 494 to commanding officer of this unit. 908, you are being demoted to second-in-command." She looked at the X5s for a few moments to see if they had any reaction and when she didn't see anything on their faces she finally nodded. "Dismissed." The X5s saluted her and marched out of the office towards the cafeteria, this time with 494 leading them. They kept the blank looks on their faces while they got in line and got their food, but dropped them as soon as they sat down at their table.

"I can't believe this shit," 908 said angrily as she stabbed her meat loaf with her fork. "I get bumped down to second to the twin of an 09er. How could that have possibly happened?"

"Because I'm better than you," 494 replied with a smirk. "That's how. I've outscored you on every test, when we split into teams for Capture the Flag and other training missions, my team always wins, and I'm just more likeable than you are." That got a laugh out of both 511 and 121.

"You're better than me?" 908 hissed. "You are not better than me! You've got tainted genes."

"Get over it," 121 said. "It's been more than a year. 494 is not his twin and I'm not my twin. We never wanted to leave. If we did, we wouldn't be here. Get that through your head." She smiled sweetly. "Besides, if you really have a problem with having 494 as your commanding officer, you can always go right back to Director Renfro's office and complain to her."

"No, that's not necessary," 908 said. She narrowed her eyes. "Besides, you still can't order me around. You're not an officer in this unit."

"No, but according to the last intraunit rankings that were posted last month, I outrank everybody except for you, 494, and 511," 121 said. "At this rate, I'll eventually outrank you."

"Little piece of shit," 908 grumbled, not quite soft enough for 121 to miss it.

"And I'm taller than you, too," 121 said cheerfully.

"You are pathetic," 786 said. She shot 121 a nasty look before she took a bite of her meat loaf and turned around to give one of the male X5s in Unit 1 a flirtatious look. "You've always been a loser, 121."

"Says the soldier who spent a few weeks in solitary because she ran her mouth off and violated a direct order when a guard was in hearing range," 121 muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?" 786 said.

494 sighed. "Enough of this. Can the two of you please cool it down? I think that all of us want some degree of peace while we eat."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry," 121 said.

786 gave both of them another nasty look, but she also apologized. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Thanks," 494 said. He looked around the table at his unit and sighed before focusing on finishing his lunch. _I really do have my work cut out for me, don't I?_

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

"I wonder what's taking 494 so long in Director Renfro's office," 121 said to 511 one day several months later as the whole unit waited in their barracks. "If he's not back soon, we're going to be late for roll call and lineup."

"Then we go out without him, 121," 908 sneered.

"Go shove—" 121 started to say.

"121, keep your cool," 511 said. "I'm sure that 494 will be back soon." They turned at the same time as the door opened and 494 walked in. "There he is. What did Director Renfro want, 494?"

"She wanted me to tell you guys that we've been excused from our first lesson today because we'll be moving into new cells," 494 said.

"What do you mean, we'll be moving into new cells?" 714 asked.

"Apparently, starting now, every X-series soldier when they turn ten years old will be moved from their group barracks to an individual cell. It has something to do with the fact that we're growing up. Since all of us are at least ten, we'll all be moving into our new cells today," 494 said. "That's what we're going to be doing after breakfast from 0830 until 0930 instead of our group lesson with edge weapons. As soon as breakfast is over, we have to get back here and pack up our things and move to our new cells." He held up the folder that he held in one of his hands. "These are our cell assignments." He caught a quick look at the clock on the wall. "And we do need to get ourselves in gear if we don't want to miss lineup and roll call so let's move."

They followed 494 out the door and over to one of the yards for roll call and lineup and then later to the cafeteria for breakfast, all of them unusually quiet. 121 wasn't even trading nasty remarks with 908 and 786. Finally, when breakfast was over, they all filed out of the cafeteria and back to their barracks. They grabbed their duffel bags and started to pack their things, nervous about the move.

"I wish we weren't moving into our own cells," 107 said. "I actually like it here with everybody."

"Well, I don't like it with everybody," 237 snapped.

"Hey, 494, do you know who's going to be moving into these barracks after we leave?" 511 asked.

"Yeah, I heard that they'll be putting one of the X8 units into here when they're old enough to live in barracks," 494 replied.

786 sighed irritably as she shoved a pair of forest camouflage pants into her duffel bag and zipped the bag up. "Who cares who's going to live in these barracks after we leave? It doesn't make a difference."

"I was curious," 511 said. He gave 786 a dirty look.

"That's enough," 494 said. "I don't want to hear any fighting between you guys." He rolled his eyes. _I'm seriously thinking that individual cells are the greatest idea since the wheel!_ He finished packing up his things and zipped up his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. "As soon as you're all done packing up your things and that does include contraband…" He mentally grinned when he saw the blushes on the faces of 908, 786, and a few others and the smirks on the faces of 511 and 121. "…then lineup here by the door and then we'll move out."

"You…know that some of us have contraband?" 908 said, sounding unsure of herself in front of 494 for the first time.

494 shrugged. "It honestly doesn't matter to me if you have contraband or not as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. As long as you're not sloppy about keeping it hidden, I won't say a word." He waited as the others finished packing and lined up. He nodded and led his unit out of the barracks. "Our new cells aren't far from here. It's just down a few hallways." They continued marching silently for another minute or two before they stopped at the end of the hallway. 494 pointed to the first door on the right. "That's my cell. On my right will be 511. On 511's right will be 121. On 121's right…" He continued to give out the cell assignments. "…and on 263's left will be 013. That's it. Get settled in. After you're done, we're free until whichever class everybody has next."

511 walked over to the door to his cell and opened it and looked around. _Not too bad. It's not that big, but that doesn't matter._ He walked over to a door at one end of the room and grinned. _All right, I've got my own bathroom!_ He went back over to the bunk and threw his duffel bag down on it and unzipped the bag and put his stuff away. When he was done, he looked at his watch and left his cell and went next door into 494's cell. "Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all," 494 said. "Got all of your stuff settled?"

"Even my contraband," 511 said. He grinned. "This might not be so bad after all. I mean, 859 used to sleep next to me on my right and whenever he would have trouble sleeping, he seemed to want to make sure that I wouldn't be able to sleep either. Thank goodness that he's going to be in a completely different cell than me."

"Yeah, this is probably going to be the best thing for our unit," 494 said.

"What do you mean?" 511 asked.

"You know us," 494 said. "You were the only one who stood up for 121 and myself when she and I got sprung from Psy Ops. 908, 786, and maybe 714 definitely have it in for me and 121 and to say that 121 doesn't get along with the three of them is a huge understatement. 237 hates just about everything and everybody. 107 is a little too paranoid for his own good. 304 is the most high strung X-series that I've ever seen. Do you want me to go on?"

"No, I know the rest of the story," 511 said. "And I agree with you completely." He shook his head. "This is probably the best thing for us, but I don't think this is going to fix any problems that we've got."

"Oh yeah," 494 agreed. They were quiet for a few moments. "It'll still be nice, though, not to have to wake up and see your sorry butt first thing in the morning."

"Which if you slept on your left side or on your stomach or on your back wouldn't happen, but no, you slept facing my bunk so it's all your fault," 511 said. They both laughed.

"Are you looking into my room, 237? Are you trying to steal the contraband that I picked up on my last mission?"

"Grow up and shut up, you freak, or I'll beat the shit out of you. Heck, why should I wait?"

494 sighed and got up off of his bunk and left the cell. "What was that phrase that we learned in military history the other day?"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same?" 511 guessed as he also left the cell and shut the door behind them.

"That's the one," 494 said as he walked down the hall to break up the possible fight between 237 and 107.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

494 stopped and gestured for his group to hold position and be silent. He cocked his head to the side and then gestured for 121 to go up ahead to spot any of the members of 908's group. 121 nodded and ran up ahead a few yards and climbed up a tree and she remained there for a few minutes. Finally, she climbed back down and ran back over to the rest of the group. "I don't see them anywhere. If they're in the area, they're doing a pretty damn good job of staying hidden."

"No surprise there. This is one of 908's strongest points," 494 said. "But they can't stay hidden forever. We need to anticipate what 908's next move will be. 714, what do you think?"

"What if 511 is going to run the show for that group?" 714 muttered.

494 raised an eyebrow. "Then we're set because I know how 511 thinks like the back of my hand. But 908 is in charge of that group and I didn't ask for any unauthorized comments, 714. What I did ask for is your opinion because I know that out of the nine members of this group, you're the closest to 908 and is the one that most likely knows how 908 thinks. What do you think 908's next move will be?"

"She'll have everybody hold position for a minimum of five minutes," 714 said after a few minutes. "When she feels that you haven't spotted her or her group yet, she'll make a move to get to her group's flag. It will most likely be her and 786 that will make a run at the flag. 511 might be with them, but he'll most likely be left behind defending their group's flag."

"Why the hell are we even running this stupid exercise in the first place?" 665 grumbled. "How many times have we played Capture the Flag since 859 was the last of us to join the unit from the baby training? A million?"

"Quiet down, 665," 121 hissed.

"She's right," 494 said. "Good work, 714. That does sound pretty much what I would think 908 would do." He thought for a moment. "Here's how we're going to counter. 121, I want you to go back to our flag and switch positions with 263 and tell 263 to remain here with the middle team. 665 and 714 and I will move forward to capture the other team's flag. All of you guys are to spread out and try to catch any of the members of 908's group that try to advance." He saw 714 smirk faintly at the thought of her going to capture the flag and at the thought of 121 having to remain back with the flag, but when he looked over at 121, he saw that she was also happy with the orders. _She's going to love to get a shot at 908 and 786! I'm always happy to give my friends what they want, especially when it also happens to be the tactically best thing to do!_

494 made some more gestures and they split up. He moved quietly through the forest with 665 and 714 right behind him. He gestured for the three of them to hold and he zoomed in and saw the other group's flag and sure enough, 511 was the one who was guarding it. He looked around and scanned the surrounding area and found another member of 908's group, 013, hidden a short distance away from 511 and the flag. 494 nodded and gestured for 665 to go around and subdue 013 and then he moved around stealthily and 714 made a move to the flag. 511 spotted her and raised his paintball gun to fire, but 494 nailed him with his own paintball gun and grabbed the flag and then he, 714, and 665 ran out of the area. He picked up his walkie talkie. "Control, this is X5-494, Group A leader. Group B's flag is secure."

"Control copies," a trainer's voice replied. "Groups A and B, return to the rendezvous point. This exercise is now finished."

494, 665, and 714 ran straight back to the rendezvous point just outside of the woods, the rest of their team members joining them a few moments later. After another few minutes, the members of 908's group also joined them and 908 did not look happy. 494 had to restrain a laugh as he saw the paintball splatters on the front of the forest camouflage of both 908 and 786. _That was the color of the paintballs in 121's gun, all right._ He looked over to his right and saw the triumphant look in 121's eyes. _She's going to be in a good mood for awhile._

"That was good work, Unit 3," the trainer said. He began to grill them all on how the exercise went. "...understandable, 511. That was good tactics on the part of 494." He turned his attention to 908. "908, you said that you and 786 were ambushed when you made a run for Group A's flag."

"Correct, sir," 908 said.

"I read the files on every member of this unit before the exercise," the trainer said. He was starting to look angry. "According to 786's file, she excels at defense. Why did you bring her with you to make a run on the flag and left 511 behind to guard the flag instead of the other way around?"

"I believed that 494 would be at least one of the soldiers who would be attempting to grab my group's flag, sir," 908 answered. "I thought that since 511 often works together with 494 during training that he would know best how to stop 494 from successfully obtaining the flag."

"Good point, but by the same logic that you had used, since they do work together as often as they do during training, 494 would know exactly how to get around 511, which is what happened," the trainer yelled. "494 put 121 with the soldiers that were guarding the flag. 121 is one of the best snipers in the unit and she utilized her skills effectively against yourself and 786. 494 displayed excellent tactical sense and you did not, 908. I am very disappointed in you! I expected more from you, 908. You are still the second-in-command of this unit and that does come with standards!" He shook his head. "Twenty laps around the facility for you, 908. The rest of you are dismissed."

"Sir, yes, sir!" they all yelled. They saluted the trainer and then went back inside to change and shower before going to lunch.

"Great, she's going to miss lunch," 786 said. "Thanks a lot, 121."

"What, for knowing how to use a paintball gun?" 121 said. "Shut up, 786."

"Both of you, shut up," 494 said.

"Sorry, sir," 121 said.

"I can't believe that we lost," 237, who had been on 908's team, said angrily. "We should have won! 908 actually came up with a great strategy for once and we still fucking lost! We shouldn't have lost. We should have won!"

"Calm down, 237," 511 said. "Do you want to get a day or two in solitary for using that word?"

"Shut the fuck up, 511," 237 said. "I don't care if I get a day or two in solitary for using words. Besides, the trainers use them all of the time. If they didn't want us picking up and using those words, then they shouldn't be using them in front of us."

494 nodded. "He's right. Still, 237, cool it. You need to learn from your mistakes--"

"My mistakes? I was not the one who blew the exercise!" 237 snapped.

"--or whoever's mistakes and move on and win the exercise the next time that we run it," 494 continued. "Do not lose your temper like that. It doesn't help you and it can only get you in trouble."

"Shut up and stop preaching like you're perfect or something," 237 said.

"I'm not perfect," 494 said. "I'm good, but I'm not perfect." He couldn't help grinning and 511 and 121 laughed. "But seriously, 237, calm down."

"I will not calm down!" 237 snapped. He threw a punch at 494, but 494 kept his cool and blocked it and gripped 237's wrist tightly.

"I'm going to be a nice guy and not report this," 494 said. He tightened his grip on 237's wrist. "But the next time that you try something like this with me, I will either report it, beat the daylights out of you, or both. Take your pick. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir," 237 said through gritted teeth.

494 nodded and released his grip on 237's wrist. "Thanks, buddy." They reached their hallway. "We've got fifteen minutes before lunch. I'll see you all there."

They split up and went into their cells. 494, 511, and 121 stopped in front of the door to 121's cell. "I thought 237 was really going to lose it," 121 said.

"I can handle him," 494 said.

"Thank goodness that you can," 511 said. "But you still need to be careful."

"I'm always careful," 494 said. He grinned. "I'll meet you here when you're done changing and we can go to lunch together."

"Cool," 511 said. 121 nodded and they went into their cells.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 and calistra for their reviews and support! Angel of Darkness231, I guess great minds think alike! I did go and read your fic and this 908 is absolutely nothing like the character of the same designation in your fic. This one has some bad issues and they'll come out more in the later chapters. Thank you so much again!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: In case any of you haven't read "What's Next?", in that fic I made CeCe's designation 228 and Gem's designation 849 since I didn't recall either of their designations being mentioned on the show.

"Two more weeks until August 18th, 2011," 121 said as she led most of the unit towards the rec room one night.

"What's so special about August 18th?" 237 said, annoyed.

121 rolled her eyes as she opened the door to the rec room. "That's the day of the start of the trials for command and second-in-command of the entire X5 squad here, numbnuts."

"Why would you care? You're not eligible," 786 sneered.

"I'm rooting for 494 to win," 121 said. "Come on, 786, you're friends with 908. I know that you're hoping that she'll make C.O."

"True," 786 admitted.

"Speaking of which, when will her and 494 and 511 get back from Director Renfro's office?" 714 asked.

_What, you can't stand having me in command of your sorry butt even if it's only for a few minutes?_ 121 thought. "I don't know. If we're lucky, it won't be too long." She led them into the rec room and blinked in surprise when she saw Unit 4 already there. "Hey."

"You guys can come in if you want," Unit 4's commanding officer, 849, said. She shrugged and smiled. "No reason not to."

"Great. Thanks," 121 said.

"Where are your C.O. and second-in-command?" another member of Unit 4, 327, asked.

"In Director Renfro's office along with someone else in our unit," 714 said.

They all sat down and started to talk among themselves or with some of the members of Unit 4. 121 went over to the one of the couches where 849 was sitting with another X5. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure," 849 said.

"Thanks," 121 said. She looked at the other soldier that was sitting there. "You're 228, right?"

"Guilty as charged," 228 said. "Nice to actually meet you."

121 laughed. "Yeah, nice to actually meet you too." She stretched. "Are you excited about the trials coming up, 849?"

"I am so nervous, I'm surprised that I haven't thrown up yet," 849 said. "I've been going over everything that I've ever learned in my head. Every bit of information, every move that I can pull off, you name it. I think I'm going to go insane."

"Don't sweat it," 121 said. "From what I've heard, you're pretty good. You've got a good shot." She shrugged. "And from what I've heard, the focus on the trials will be primarily on your leadership abilities. The X3s and X4s that I'd talked to said that it was mostly a lot of training missions where they'd paired up different officers to see who worked best as leaders and also which combination worked best together."

228 nodded. "I also heard that the different facility directors placed emphasis on different areas. Like Director Renfro factors in individual skill the most. I think Director Warren of the New York facility is the same way. Colonel Lydecker of the Wyoming facility, on the other hand, values individual skill and the combination of soldiers that work the best together equally, maybe even placing a little more weight on the latter. That's not to say that a C.O. and a 2IC of a unit won't end up as the C.O. and 2IC of the entire squad after the trials are done, but that would be more likely to happen in Wyoming than it would here."

"558 is probably wishing that he's in Wyoming, then," 849 said, rolling her eyes and looking over towards her second-in-command. "He's so confident that he's going to leapfrog over me and take C.O. over the squad. He's driving me crazy."

"I feel your pain," 121 said sympathetically. "908 in our unit has been the same way. She sees this as her big opportunity to redeem herself and to take back C.O. of our unit from 494 and boost her standing overall."

"You don't like 908 much, do you?" 849 said.

"Are you kidding me? I hate the bitch," 121 said. "She was not the most likeable person in the world before the whole '09er mess happened and since then she's been a million times worse. She's obviously got some kind of a self-esteem problem at the very least but she takes it out on everybody except for 786 and 714, who are almost as bad as 908 in a lot of ways. All three of those bitches can kiss my ass."

228 raised an eyebrow. "You're saying that within their hearing range?"

121 shrugged and then smirked at 786 and 714 when they gave her dirty looks. "It's nothing that I haven't said when I've been in their hearing range before. Besides, they've both said much worse things about me, especially after I got out of Psy Ops in September of '09. I stopped caring what they think about me sometime around that following New Year's."

"Good for you," 849 said.

"Um…what did you think about that whole thing?" 121 asked. "About me and 494 having twins among the '09ers?"

"I don't care," 849 said. "I never cared about it. What was the big deal? Yeah, 120 and 493 are genetically identical to you and 494, but they're still different people in a different place. You and 494 never did anything wrong other than being their twin and even that wasn't a crime, you know?"

228 nodded in agreement. "I feel pretty much the same way. I never understood what all of the fuss was about, either."

121 grinned. "Thanks, you guys. It's nice to actually have some friends outside of my own unit."

"No problem," 849 said. Suddenly, they all looked towards the door when they heard footsteps heading towards the rec room. "Speaking of which, I think that might be your missing unit mates." Sure enough, when the door opened a few moments later, it was 494, 511, and 908 who walked inside of the rec room. 494 and 511's faces were mostly expressionless, but their eyes were twinkling. 908 was definitely angry and was barely hiding it.

"Why did Director Renfro want to see you guys?" 121 asked.

"Change in the chain of command of the unit," 494 said. He gestured to 511. "Say hello to your new second-in-command."

"Are you serious?" 121 said.

"Very serious," 494 said. "Not only was 511 moved up to second-in-command, but Director Renfro also told me to tell you that you've been moved up to third in the chain of command in our unit. Congrats, 121."

"Wow, thank you," 121 said. She gave 494 a hug and then turned and gave 511 a hug as well. "Congratulations, 511! This means that you're going to be participating in the trials in two weeks now!"

"Oh yeah," 511 said. "I am going to kick some ass."

"Except mine?" 494 said with a smirk.

511 returned the smirk. "Including yours, boss."

"That's bullshit!" 908 snapped. "This whole thing is bullshit! I see no reason why I was bumped down from officer status or even why that little bitch was moved up the chain of command ahead of me! I still don't fucking see why that fucking twin of a traitor was promoted ahead of me last year! This is all a bunch of crap and I won't fucking take it anymore!" She started to lunge for 121, who was the closest to her, but 494 and 511 had anticipated the move by that point and grabbed 908 by the arms and restrained her.

"908, stand down right this instant," 494 said. When 908 still struggled, he and 511 yanked her back and he looked her in the eyes. "That's an order, 908. Stand down."

"Fine, _sir_," 908 said angrily. "I wonder why I even take orders from you."

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing," 494 replied. He looked over at where 786 and 714 were standing. "If the one or both of the two of you or any of you start the same crap that you pulled back in '09, I will have you sent to solitary. Just because I haven't yet exercised my ability to do that yet doesn't mean that I can't or I won't. It only means that you haven't pushed me that far yet."

"You don't have the guts, you little piece of shit," 908 hissed. Her voice was much quieter, but it was no less venomous. "You never had the guts to do anything, 494. You never had the nerve to do a single good fucking thing in your miserable little life. The only reason that you've gotten this far has been by pure luck."

494 just met her gaze and he kept his voice level. "Is that true, 908? Oh, well." He shrugged. 908 narrowed her eyes at his sarcastic dismissal of her words, but she didn't respond. "I'll play nice and let you spend until tomorrow night in solitary to let you rethink your opinion."

908 raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a challenge, 494."

"You made one first, sweetheart. 511, 121, keep an eye on her for a few minutes." 494 left the room and returned a few minutes later with one of the guards. "Here's your ride over to solitary, 908. Have a nice day." They all watched as the guard escorted 908 out of the rec room. After a few minutes, things returned to close to how they'd been before 494, 511, and 908 had joined them.

"I'm really sorry about that," 121 apologized to 849 and 228.

"No apology is necessary," 849 said. "I'm sorry that you have to live with her."

121, 494, 511, and 228 laughed. "Yeah, that's a nice little slice of our life," 494 said. "I'm glad that we're in individual cells now."

"Me too," 511 said.

"Well, 511," 849 said. "It looks like you'll be joining 494 and myself in the trials soon. Do you think that you can handle it?"

"Absolutely," 511 said.

"Whether everybody else can handle him, on the other hand…" 121 said. The five of them laughed.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much again to Angel of Darkness231 and to calistra for your reviews and support! Angel of Darkness231, I actually have a page on my website that has some of the original characters from my DA AUs. (There's two AUs that I'm writing but they share characters because the other one is a 'what-if-they-didn't-escape' AU) including 121 and 908, who I recently gave a name. I think we are on a similar wavelength! Thank you so much again!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

121 woke up, looked around, and sighed. 494 and 511 were both outside on a training mission that was part of the trials for C.O. and second-in-command of the X5s that was scheduled to run for a full forty-eight hours, which meant that she wouldn't even see them in the cafeteria for meals for the next two days. She shrugged and got up and went into her bathroom. _It's not that big of a deal. I've been more or less in command of the unit since the trials started four days ago._

She quickly showered and then got dressed for the day. As she was tying the laces on her boots, she heard some noises coming from the cell that was next to her on the right and rolled her eyes. _Great, 786 had some guy sleep over in her cell that night. I should just be happy that they didn't keep me up last night. She better not be late for roll call or lineup or I'll have her ass._

She opened the door to her cell just in time to see a soldier blur around the corner. She rolled her eyes again and knocked on the door to 786's cell. "Move it or lose it, 786. We've got to leave to get to lineup and roll call in five minutes or we're going to be late."

"Relax, 121, I know how to get dressed quickly," 786 snapped.

"You've had plenty of practice by now," 121 muttered under her breath.

A few moments later, 786 stepped out of her cell, ready for the day. She glared at 121. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, 121?"

"We've had cells next to each other for a little while, 786. You figure it out if you're so smart," 121 said. She took a deep breath. "Look, I don't want to start a fight with you, especially first thing in the morning and as long as it doesn't affect your performance then it really doesn't matter. Let's wait for everybody to get out here and let's get outside."

786 stared at 121 for a few moments before she finally nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

121 waited as the rest of the unit came out of their cells until everybody that was supposed to be there was there except for 908. "908, let's hurry it up. If you're not out in the next minute, we're going to head out without you and you're going to be late. Come on."

"Give it a rest, I'm here," 908 said irritably. She walked out of her cell and up to the rest of the group and gave 121 a nasty look. "On a power trip, 121?"

121 motioned for everybody to form a line and then they marched off towards their yard for lineup and roll call. "No more so than when you were in command of the unit, 908. And this isn't the first time that you've been slow to get up in the morning. I think 494 must have said the same thing to you at least five times over the past year."

"Big deal," 908 said. "So I have trouble getting up sometimes in the morning. I had a tough day yesterday."

_So did the rest of us, you idiot,_ 121 thought. She kept her mouth shut as they reached the yard and lined up. They got through lineup and roll call and even breakfast without killing each other and 121 breathed a sigh of relief when they split up after breakfast to go to individual classes. She walked down to her language and foreign infiltration class and sat down at a desk. _Two hours without 908 and 786. That's as close to a vacation as I'm ever going to get._

"Enjoying your morning so far?" a voice at 121's right said.

121 turned around and saw 228 sitting down in the desk next to her and smiled. "Yeah, there's nothing that's quite as much fun as dealing with 908 and 786 first thing in the morning. How was your morning so far?"

"I can't really complain too much," 228 said. She shrugged. "620 is decent enough as a temporary commanding officer."

"Good," 121 said. They shut up when the trainer entered the room and paid attention. After lecturing the class for close to an hour, he gave them an assignment and they paired off. 121 and 228 looked over the sheets of paper that the trainer had given them. "This looks easy enough."

"Yeah, too easy," 228 said. "There's got to be a catch here somewhere."

"Yeah, you're probably right," 121 agreed. "If we're really lucky, it really will be as easy as it looks and we'll be done with it in a heartbeat." She took another look at the papers. "Okay, you've been inserted into Russia to infiltrate an underground movement to overthrow their current government. Your cover is..." She and 228 worked hard at their assignment and finished before any of the other teams in the class. They smiled at each other triumphantly and they stood up and went over to the trainer's desk and handed the assignment over to him. "Here you go, sir. 228 and I are finished."

"Very well," the trainer said. "Please wait while I grade this." 121 and 228 waited patiently while he checked their assignment over and compared the answers to the ones on his key. After a few minutes, he nodded and made a mark on the assignment and put it into a folder. "Very well done, 121 and 228. That was a perfect score. Please return to your seats and read the rest of the current chapter in your textbooks for the duration of the class."

121 and 228 saluted him and went back to their seats and picked up their books and opened them. "What do you know, it actually was that easy," 228 said.

"If the rest of the day goes this well, I'm really going to be happy," 121 said. "It rarely ever does, though."

"Oh yeah," 228 agreed. She turned a page in her book. "The last time I had a day that I thought was going to be really good, 461 got into trouble and they decided to punish our entire unit by having us do two hours in the tank until it was time for us to go to bed."

"Ouch," 121 said. She winced. "I hate the tank."

"I don't think any of us like the tank," 228 said. "What do you have after this class, 121?"

"Group Martial Arts," 121 said. "There goes my day right there. Everybody's always trying to gun for me during that class. They think it's an excuse for them to do that." She shrugged. "Whatever. I usually beat them so it's not so bad and even when I don't win when I'm sparring with somebody, I definitely don't let my opponent walk away unscathed. Then after lunch I'm leading a training mission over in the woods on the West side of the facility, opposite of where they're running that training mission for the trials."

"Good luck," 228 said.

"Thanks," 121 said. They chatted for awhile longer as they read until they were dismissed from their class. 121 said good-bye to 228 and marched towards the gym and waited for the rest of the unit to show up. The day passed and to 121's amazement, it seemed to go smoothly. 237 didn't seem to be in quite as bad of a mood as usual and even 908 was unusually placid. 121 couldn't believe her good luck as she and the rest of the unit sat in one of the classrooms being debriefed after the training mission.

"...that's right. That was excellent strategy, 121. You did quite a good job without your C.O. and 2IC here. Good work," the trainer who was debriefing them said.

"Thank you, sir," 121 said.

"Good job to all of you," the trainer said. He looked at his watch and then back up at the X5s. "Your time is yours to use however you choose until lights out. You are all dismissed."

They stood up and saluted the trainer and left the classroom. "That training mission actually went well," 714 said almost suspiciously.

"What, I've actually got leadership skills," 121 said.

"Okay, maybe you did earn your rank," 908 grudgingly admitted. "That still doesn't mean that you're better than me."

_Rome wasn't exactly built in a day,_ 121 thought. She shrugged. "However you feel about that matter is your business, 908."

786 stretched and looked at her watch. "I've got an hour-and-a-half until lights out and I've got to report to mission prep at 0830 tomorrow for that mission that I'll be going on with those guys from Unit 6. I've got people to see and things to do."

121 managed to restrain a snort. _Don't you mean things to see and people to do?_ "Go ahead. You heard the trainer, we can do what we want until lights out. Just be back in your cell by then and don't get caught doing something stupid." _Like the guy that you're going to be meeting._

"I'm not that stupid," 786 said. She gave 121 a mock salute and walked away.

121 sighed and continued on to her cell. She went inside and over to the spot where she hid her contraband and took out a magazine and sat on her bunk and started to read. _Not a bad day at all. Tomorrow will probably suck beyond words, but at least I had one good day to brag about._ She smiled to herself and continued to read. _See, 494, I can handle these assholes for at least a day!_

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, Yeoman1000, Angel of Darkness231, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

"So, are you guys nervous about the assembly after breakfast?" 121 teased as she, 494, 511, and the rest of the unit marched over to the cafeteria after lineup and roll call one morning a week-and-a-half later.

"Nah," 494 said. "I'm not too nervous, anyway. I'm pretty sure that I did well enough to have gotten at least second-in-command."

"With me as commanding officer," 511 said cheerfully. He, 494, and 121 laughed.

"Shut up," 908 said in disgust as they entered the cafeteria and got on the food line. "There's no way that you could have made even second-in-command, 511, so drop the bullshit."

"There's also no need for your belittling everybody this morning," 494 said. "Zip it, 908."

"Hey, 121, I heard that you did pretty damn good leading these guys while 494 and I were taking part in the trials," 511 said. "Way to go. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," 121 said. She blushed a little.

714 snorted as they got their food and sat down at their table. "Please shut up. There's no need to praise the bitch. She was only leading us by default while the two of you were running the trials. It doesn't matter how she did."

"Neither does your opinion," 121 shot back.

"The day hasn't officially begun until 121 is involved in an argument with somebody," 494 deadpanned. Some of the unit laughed mean-spiritedly. Even 121 chuckled, though it was because she knew 494 was just being himself and didn't mean anything nasty by it.

"I brighten everybody's day," 121 remarked. She ate a spoonful of her oatmeal. "It's one of the things that I do best."

"Please don't make me laugh while I'm eating my breakfast," 295 said, shaking his head. He took a sip of his orange juice. "Let's face it, 121, you're a killjoy."

121 raised an eyebrow. "I'm a killjoy, 295? I think that you're the one that needs to reach up your ass and yank out the rule book that's jammed up there." She sighed when she saw the looks from most of the rest of the unit. "Come on here, people. I don't care what you're personal opinion of me is, you've got to agree with me on this one. 295 is so damn anal retentive, I'm pretty sure he's the only mission-qualified soldier here that hasn't even thought about sneaking back contraband from a mission."

"I never thought that I would ever hear myself say this, but 121 has a valid point," 786 said. "I'm going to have to agree with her. Why won't you even do that? It's not that hard to sneak in contraband and it's even easier to hide it."

"Because it's wrong," 295 said indignantly. "You guys can risk getting caught with contraband all you want to, but I sure won't."

"Get with the program, you little snot," 665 said. "Be a man for once in your life."

"Yeah," 237 said. "Even 107 has more backbone than you do."

"Hey!" 107 snapped. "I didn't do anything to you yet this morning, 237. Don't start with me."

"Or what? You're going to beat the shit out of me?" 237 sneered.

"Stop it," 494 ordered. "Wait until martial arts or edge weapons before the two of you fight each other. There will be no bloodshed at the table. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," 107 and 237 said reluctantly.

They all looked up as the warning bell rang and they stood up and went to put their trays away and then marched out of the cafeteria towards the lecture hall where the assembly was going to be held. "I guess this is it," 494 said. They found some seats and went over to them and sat down. "Now or never."

"You're more nervous than you thought, huh?" 121 teased.

"Okay, so I am," 494 admitted. He shrugged and grinned. "You can't blame a guy for getting nervous when he's potentially up for a promotion."

"Nope," 121 agreed. They sat back as more of the X5s entered the lecture hall and then finally, Director Renfro herself. Renfro stepped up to the podium and waited for the X5s to quiet down before she started to speak.

"As you all know, the trials for commanding officer and second-in-command of the X5 squad concluded two days ago," she said. "My staff and I have been deliberating on the results since then and came to a conclusion last night." She cleared her throat. "Seattle facility X5s, your commanding officer will be X5-494. 494, please step forward."

511 slapped 494 on the back. "Way to go, buddy."

"Thanks," 494 said. He felt a little bit dazed. _I thought I did well enough, but I can't believe that I actually got it! All right!_ He stood up and walked over next to the podium and turned around so that he faced the other X5s and stood at attention.

Renfro nodded in satisfaction. "Our choice for second-in-command of the squad may come as a little bit of a surprise to some of you because of his rank, but his performance during the trials spoke for itself." Both 511's and 121's eyes widened and they exchanged a quick glance. Renfro took a deep breath and continued. "Seattle facility X5s, your second-in-command will be X5-511. 511, please step forward."

511 somehow managed to restrain a grin as he stood up and walked over to 494 and stood at attention next to him. _This is unreal._

"I have some more news for all of you before I dismiss you," Renfro said. "In two days, we will begin standard evaluations for every single X5. However, at the conclusion of these evaluations, we will post not only the intraunit rankings, but the complete squad rankings as well. The top sixteen soldiers, as well as any commanding officers and second-in-commands who rank below the top sixteen, will be granted officer status. That is all. You are dismissed."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" they all chorused. Everybody saluted Renfro and then marched out of the lecture hall.

"I can't believe it!" 121 said happily. She gave both 494 and 511 a hug. "Congratulations! You guys did it."

"Not in the order that I'd hoped, but I'll live with it," 511 joked. "Thank you, 121."

908, as expected, looked furious. "I can't believe that you two losers are in command of everybody."

"Holy shit, she's right," 121 said, her eyes wide. "We'll outrank the X3s and X4s once we pass our solo ops tests and are considered to be fully trained and we already outrank every X-series that comes after us. You guys will be running the show in three years or less!"

"That's disgusting," 714 said. She made a face and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I can't believe that 494 and 511 will be—"

"Congratulations, you guys!" 849 said as she approached them. She also gave both 494 and 511 a hug.

"Thanks," 494 said. "I'm sorry that you didn't make either spot. I thought you did really well."

849 shook her head. "I guess I did, but you two earned it for sure."

"Way to go," 228 added as she joined her C.O.

"Shouldn't you be leading your unit somewhere, 849?" 908 sneered.

121 and 228 exchanged a look as the same thing crossed both of their minds. _849's an officer and 908 isn't. 908 could be in so much trouble._

849 just kept her cool and smiled sweetly at 908. "Don't worry, 908. My unit is scheduled with yours for martial arts next. I think that we're going to be using weapons in that class today, aren't we, 494?"

"I do believe that you're right, 849," 494 said cheerfully, trying not to laugh at the furious and worried look on 908's face. "Unit 3, fall in line."

"Unit 4, fall in line," 849 said. They led their units to the gym.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to calistra, Angel of Darkness231, and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

511 flipped himself off of the last obstacle and blurred for the finish line, with 121 only about a second behind him. 121, however, used her longer legs to her advantage and pulled up to 511 as they crossed the finish line. They slowed down and looked over at the trainer who had been timing the two of them as they tried to catch their breath.

"121, five minutes, twelve point 33 seconds," the trainer said as he looked at the laptop that had received the feed from the electronic timer. "You tied 494's time on the course today. 511, five minutes, twelve point 36 seconds. Very close. Good job, both of you." He typed some commands into the laptop and then he closed it and turned to the rest of the group of X5s that had run the obstacle course. "All of you did very well this afternoon. Dismissed." The X5s saluted the trainer and marched back towards the building.

"I am so happy that I have enough time for a shower before my next class," 121 said, relieved. "I smell worse than whatever it was that they served in the cafeteria for lunch yesterday."

494 turned around and sniffed. "Nah, I think you smell like my socks after I ran the course last week."

121 rolled her eyes and smacked 494 in the shoulder. "Wise ass."

"Thank you," 494 said.

"Anytime, 494," 121 said.

"I almost beat her," 511 said. "I almost had your time."

"494 left me in the dust when it was our turn to run," 228 said.

"You still did really well, 228," 494 said. "I think you had the fifth highest time and there were thirty of us who ran the course just now. What was your time again? Five minutes, fifteen seconds?"

"Five minutes, fifteen point 35 seconds," 228 confirmed. "Yeah, it wasn't that bad of a time and it was only half a second off of my personal best, but you three are speed demons out there."

"It's one of the few times that I love being tall," 121 said, grinning.

"It's not how tall you are, it's how you're built. You're tall, but you also have long legs," 511 said.

"How would you know, 511?" 121 said. "Have you been looking at my legs? Pervert."

"I'm fourteen years old. I'm supposed to be at least a little bit of a pervert," 511 teased. "Isn't that right, 494?"

"He's right," 494 said. He reached around and grabbed 121's ass. 121 shrieked a little and clocked 494 in the head, but both she and 494 as well as 511 and 228 were laughing. "It just comes with the territory."

They entered the building and they started to head for the area where their cells were, but they were intercepted in the hallway by 849. "There you guys are," she said breathlessly. "They're up. They put up the squad and intraunit rankings." They followed 849 over to a bulletin board that was against one of the walls that was surrounded by a crowd of mostly X5s.

"How did we do?" 511 asked.

"See for yourself," 849 replied, but she was smiling.

"I'll go take a look," 494 said. He walked up to the board and a minute later, came back to the other four, a big grin on his face.

"So? What was it?" 121 said.

494 kept on grinning and he pointed to himself. "One." He pointed to 511. "Two." He pointed to 121. "Three…in not just our unit."

121's jaw dropped. "I'm ranked third in the entire squad? Are you serious?"

"Take a look for yourself," 494 said.

"Oh, I will," 121 said. She managed to get through the crowd and took a look at the board. Sure enough, in the list of the squad rankings, her barcode number was listed third behind 494's and 511's. She squealed and ran back to them. "You're right! You're right!"

"Welcome to officer status, 121," 511 said. He gave her a big hug.

"Darn, she's not a C.O. or a 2IC and yet she still manages to outrank me," 849 said, pretending to be disappointed. She grinned. "Congratulations, 121."

"Thank you, and congratulations to you, too," 121 said. "Fifth in the squad. That's really good."

"Thanks," 849 said.

"You miserable little whore bag," a familiar voice said.

121 rolled her eyes. "She had to show up sometime."

"You pathetic little bitch," 908 hissed, stalking up to them. "How dare you make officer status when you're not even a commanding officer or a second-in-command. How dare you take my spot!"

"Your spot? It didn't have your barcode number on it, 908," 121 retorted. "Look, just because you weren't bumped back up to officer status and just because you slipped back to fifth in our unit rankings doesn't mean that you can take it out on me. I am sick of hearing this kind of shit from you. I've been hearing this crap every time I've done better than you at something since I got out of Psy Ops two years ago and it's beyond old. I don't want to hear this again. Ever."

"You really are a pathetic little bitch," 908 said.

"And yet when I make a mistake, I don't whine about it. As a matter of fact, I bust my ass to correct my mistake and improve myself," 121 said. "You should try that sometime instead of complaining. Who knows, if you actually do that, you might find yourself back on officer status." 908 continued to glare at 121, but 121 matched her glare. "Don't make me beat the shit out of you in front of everybody, 908. Too much collateral damage."

"Fine, _ma'am_," 908 said angrily. She stared at 121 for a moment later before she suddenly reached out and slapped 121 across the face hard enough to send 121 stumbling back into 511's arms.

"That's enough, 908," 494 commanded. He grabbed 908 and pushed her back. "Get your ass to the brig for hitting another soldier unprovoked."

"Unprovoked?" 908 said skeptically.

"Now!" 494 snapped. "849, please do me a favor and escort 908 to the brig and tell the guard in charge there what happened and tell him that he can determine how long 908 stays down there."

849 nodded. "Yes, sir." She grabbed 908 and led her away.

"I can't believe that bitch hit me," 121 said. "When will she just get over it? I thought I was bad at holding a grudge, but she outdoes me in that area by so much it's hard to fathom."

"Don't ask me, she's not in my unit," 228 said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound bitchy."

"It's okay, I understand," 121 said.

494 smirked. "With the way you were acting, I'm not surprised that you're getting a reputation especially among the younger X-series' that you've got an attitude problem."

121 returned the smirk. "I like to instill some degree of fear with the kids. I want them on their toes." They all laughed and continued on their way.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to calistra and Angel of Darkness231 for their reviews and support! Hang on, because things will take a dramatic turn in a few chapters!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

About a year later…

"Nothing like a job well done, huh, 511?" 121 said as she stretched her legs out as she and 511 got out of the van that had taken them back to Manticore after their latest mission. She rolled her eyes and added sarcastically under her breath. "Nothing like coming back to home sweet home."

"Yeah, I'm going to miss Jill," 511 said, grinning.

121 slapped 511 across the back of his head. "It just amazes me how big horn dogs you and 494 are."

"Hey, he's not here. Don't jump on his back," 511 said.

"So you're giving me permission to give you grief? Thanks!" 121 said.

"Like you need permission from me for you to give me grief," 511 pointed out.

"Good point," 121 said as they entered the building and headed over to where they had to check back in and be debriefed. "What's the point in asking permission?"

"I'm your superior officer," 511 said.

"Superior in what way?" 121 teased. They saw 494 approaching them from the other end of the hallway and 121 waved. "Hey, 494! We're back." As they approached each other, she noticed that 494 was limping and looked down and saw an air cast on his left foot. "Ouch. What happened to your foot?"

"Training mission a few days ago," he said. "304 was about to be nailed by 263 and I managed to get her out of the way, but I broke my foot in the process. This should come off in two days and it should only be another day or two until I'm back on active duty again."

"That sucks," 511 said. He looked at 494, concerned. "Are you okay, 494? Is something else wrong?"

"I'll tell you after you guys finish with your debriefing," 494 said. He looked at his watch. "How long do you think that it will take?"

121 shrugged. "It shouldn't take too long. Why?"

"Meet me in my cell when you're done," 494 told them. He limped off.

511 and 121 exchanged a look. "Something's got to be very wrong," 511 said.

"Let's just get through the debriefing and find out what it is," 121 said.

The two of them checked in and were debriefed over their completed mission. Sure enough, it didn't take too long and as soon as it was over, they headed straight for 494's cell. 511 knocked on the door. "Hey, buddy, we're here."

"It's unlocked. Come on in," 494 said.

511 opened the door and he and 121 stepped inside and they sat down next to 494 on the bunk. "What's going on here, 494?"

494 took a deep breath. "This isn't good. To tell you guys the truth, I don't know what to think of this, but I have a feeling that you guys won't like it." He glanced at 121. "Or at the very least 121 won't like it."

"Oh?" 121 said.

"Director Renfro had an assembly this morning after breakfast," 494 said. "All of the X3s, X4s, and X5s were there. She told us that it had been decided by her and her superiors that they will begin a breeding program between us and ordinary soldiers."

121's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me. A breeding program! Why the fuck would they do something like that? We're soldiers, not animals! We might be part animal, but we're still fucking human! Why would they do that?"

"I'm not kidding," 494 said. "And I wish that I knew why. Maybe they want to see how long pregnancy lasts with transgenics. Maybe they just want to see how a child with one transgenic parent would turn out. Maybe they want to see that and they want it done in a controlled situation as opposed to somebody going out on a mission, not using protection, and getting somebody or getting knocked up. I don't know, but it's happening."

"When?" 511 asked.

"The order becomes effective in two nights," 494 said. "All X3s, X4s, and X5s that are on site and not on a mission or indisposed in the infirmary are to report back to their cells by 2015 and then at 2030, the ordinary soldier that has been assigned to them will report to the cell and they are to copulate until lights out at 2300, when the ordinary soldier will be collected and this is to continue until Director Renfro calls a halt to the program or until the female X-series or female ordinary gets pregnant, whichever comes first."

"That's…that's…I can't do it, 494, I can't do this," 121 said. She put her head in her hands.

"We're under orders," 494 reminded her, but his voice was quiet. "I wasn't the one who issued the order, but we still have no choice but to follow it."

"I know that, dipshit! I wasn't engineered yesterday," 121 snapped.

"Calm down, 121," 511 said.

"Calm down? Fuck you, 511. It's easy for you and 494 to stay calm about this load of horseshit. It's no big deal for one of you to wait for some random woman to waltz into your cells and then fuck her until the cows come home. You're teenage males. It's practically hard-wired into your fucking Y chromosomes for you to want to get as much sex as you can and this is nothing that you haven't done a bunch of times while you were out on missions or maybe even with one of the X5 girls, except that this time you won't be using protection. But what about me, huh? I—" 121 started crying and 494 and 511 each put an arm around her.

"What about you, 121?" 494 asked softly.

121 cried for a minute or two before she calmed herself down enough to answer him. "I know that I'm a genetically enhanced soldier. I know that there is so much that is beyond my control and I accept that. I really do accept that." She shook her head. "I'm a virgin. I've never had sex before and I always thought that I would be the one deciding when I was ready. I thought I would keep control over my body as much as I could." She started crying again. "Damnit, you guys, for me, this practically is fucking rape! This is the biggest fucking deal!"

494 and 511 just looked at each other, their eyes wide in horror. "121, I'm so sorry," 511 finally said. "I am so sorry."

"I know you are," 121 said. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I know that both of you guys are sorry. I just…this was the only thing that I had known for sure that I had control over and they're taking it away."

"You've still got tomorrow night," 511 said helpfully.

"How about we have sex tomorrow night?" 494 suggested.

Both 121 and 511 looked at him in surprise. "Are you serious, 494?" 121 said skeptically.

"I'm serious," 494 said. "I want to help you out, 121. I'm trying to offer you some kind of out. I want you to do it on your own terms, like 511 and I did. If you want to, and _only_ if you want to, meet me in my cell tomorrow night after lights out and we'll have sex. I've got protection so that won't be a problem."

121 was quiet as she thought about it. _It's one of the most insane ideas that I've ever heard, but it's also one of the best. I'll be damned if I lose control over this!_ "I'll go with it, 494. I'll sleep with you tomorrow night." She turned to her right and gave 494 a hug. "Thank you so much."

"You're one of my best friends, 121," 494 said. "You name it, I'll do it."

"So you're into kinky then? Good to know," 121 teased.

"There's 121 again," 511 said. "Will you be okay?"

"I don't know," 121 said honestly. "I really don't know. I still hate the idea of this breeding program. What—" She cut herself off and shook her head. "I just don't know, 511. But I'll get through it, somehow."

"Just hang on tight and that ride will be over soon enough," 494 agreed.

511 smirked. "Are we talking about the breeding program or 121 sleeping with you tomorrow night?"

"Jealous?" 121 teased. They laughed and she smiled a little. "Yeah, as long as I've got the two of you, I will get through it." She sighed. "It's going to be one rough ride."

"Definitely," 494 agreed.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 and calistra for their reviews and support!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: In case any of you have read my fic "Together," I made some minor changes to chapters 70 and 71 that will have to do with events that will come up later in this fic.

121 sighed to herself as she entered her cell the following night. _What a long day,_ she thought. _Between that nasty round of Escape and Evade that we had against Unit 2, 908 running her stupid mouth during lunch about how 237 cheated and used some dirty moves when they'd sparred during martial arts this morning, those physicals that they gave us in preparation for the start of the breeding program tomorrow night, I'm just mentally exhausted._ She laughed a little to herself. _Oh yeah, and my nerves about tonight. Yeah, I'm going to have sex with one of my best friends. No big deal, I've heard that it happens all of the time in the outside world. Cynical much, 121?_

She used the bathroom and when she was done, left her bathroom and stood in front of the small mirror that hung above her dresser and stared at herself. _Should I even bother changing out of my clothes? It's not like I'll be wearing them in a few minutes. Nah, I don't think that I'll change._

She lay down on her bunk and just stared at the ceiling of her cell. _I can't believe that it's come to this, me sleeping with 494 to ease my mind about this repulsive breeding program. It's the right decision in this situation, though. What am I supposed to do? Completely give control over every aspect of my body to Manticore? Fuck no. They do not control everything, those ass—watch where you're going with this, 121. You're starting to venture into '09er territory._ 121 shook her head. _I won't go there. I fucking refuse to think like my tw—120 and 493 and the rest of them did and maybe still do. Of course they still do, you moron. The only one of them who doesn't think like that anymore is the one who stayed behind, 798. Good for her._

She snorted. _Yeah, this from the girl who wanted to leave like crazy after she got out of Psy Ops two years ago and the one who hated 494 for a few months afterwards because he didn't bring up the idea like 599 apparently did with his unit._ 121 blinked and turned her head so that she was facing the wall of the cell. _Part of me still wants to escape. Let's be honest here, I really want to escape, especially now with this fucking breeding program just around the corner. I can't and I won't escape, though, even if the opportunity did come up. I can't leave 511 and 494 behind and I damn well won't live up to my tw—120's reputation. I won't be branded like those bastard '09ers were. No way. Not me._

121 looked up again as the lights went out and a few moments later, a guard passed by her cell. She waited for a few minutes until she was sure that he was out of earshot and then she sat up and quietly made her way to her door and opened it. She stepped out into the hallway, closing her cell door behind her, and tiptoed two cells down to 494's cell at the beginning of the hallway. She softly knocked on the door. "It's me."

"Come on in," 494 said. 121 opened the door and stepped inside of the cell. "Hey there, 121."

"Hi, 494," she said. "Um…thanks again for doing this for me."

"No problem," 494 said. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

121 nodded. "I'm absolutely sure. I still want to do this."

"Okay," 494 said. He looked at 121 and frowned a little. "Are you sure, 121? You look nervous."

"Well, it is my first time," 121 said. _I can't tell him what I was thinking about. 494 is one of my best friends, but I just can't tell him. I can't even tell 511, either. I can't risk it. Fucking Manticore—watch it again, 121!_ "I guess I am a little nervous."

494 looked at her again. _She's hiding something. 121 could never lie to me and get away with it. She could lie like nobody's business to any of the trainers and most of our unit as well, but never to me or 511. Hell, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt this time. Whatever's going on in her head, it probably doesn't have her in the mood for an inquisition._ He smiled. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I haven't had sex yet with another X5, so this is kind of a first for me as well."

121 smirked and started to say something, but they both turned and looked in the direction of the other cells when they heard somebody else sneak out of their cell. A moment later, another cell door in their hallway opened and shut and 121 raised an eyebrow. "Well, at least tonight 786 has the decency to keep it in the unit tonight and if there's somebody who really needs to get laid, it's 237. Well, 295 might need to loosen up more than 237 but that's another story."

"And like always, 786 is not the first to come up with an idea," 494 said. He and 121 both laughed, though they kept their voices low in case a guard would pass by and hear them.

"I just hope that this isn't like how they taught us in Sex Ed," 121 said. She made a face. "That book they had us read was bad and that movie that they showed us was worse."

"So, you don't like to watch pornos?" 494 teased. He grinned and 121 laughed. "Yeah, that class was very bad and that movie was so instructional it couldn't even be classified as pornography. I've watched a few real pornos on some of my off-hours on the last mission that I went on and—" He was cut off when 121 smacked him across the back of his head.

"Fuck you, 494," she said, but she was obviously trying not to laugh.

"Isn't that what you're going to do?" 494 returned.

121 suddenly got quiet again. "Yeah."

494 smiled, but this time it was gentle. "Don't worry, 121. We'll take this as fast or as slow as you want to go. I've even got the condom on already. It'll be fine."

"I hope so," 121 said. She took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Okay," 494 echoed. He placed his hands on 121's shoulders, leaned in, and kissed her. After a few moments, 121 found herself responding and even enjoying the kiss. 494 wrapped his arms around 121 and deepened the kiss. After a few minutes, he broke apart from her. "Is that okay? Do you want to continue with this?"

121 nodded. "Oh yeah. I need it." She reached forward and pulled 494's face back towards hers and kissed him. She found her body responding as 494 pulled her in closer and then she suddenly giggled when 494 started to take her t-shirt off. "I'm ticklish there. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," 494 said. He grinned wickedly and tickled her on that spot on her side and 121 started to laugh, only to gasp when 494 started to kiss her neck after he'd taken off her shirt.

_I definitely need this,_ 121 thought as 494 lowered her onto his bunk and they continued. _Do I ever..._

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 and angelofdarkness78 for your reviews and support!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

494 woke up early the next morning and looked over to where he'd left his watch on his desk and zoomed in on it. _0500. Got an hour before I have to be up._ He blinked and turned his head to look at 121, who was sleeping next to him. _Man, that was some night last night!_ He watched as 121 stirred and yawned and opened her eyes. "Good morning, 121."

"Good morning, 494," she said. She laughed a little. "Wow. Last night was something else."

"I'll say," 494 said. "That was much better than sex with an ordinary chick."

121 rolled her eyes and reached over and smacked him in the shoulder. "The buglers haven't woken everybody up yet and you're already being a perv."

"Hey, we did just sleep together," 494 teased.

"I know," 121 said. She smiled. "And you're right. I mean, that was absolutely amazing. That was a great release. Emotionally, I mean, though..."

"Yeah," 494 said.

121 looked at 494 thoughtfully. "This will never go any farther, though, you know what I mean? It was fantastic sex last night, but other than that, I don't feel anything for you that I didn't feel before."

"I know what you mean," 494 said. "We're not meant to be." He grinned wickedly. "If you ever want more of that great sex, though..."

"You'd be the last person that I'd call," 121 teased. They both laughed and 121 got up out of 494's bunk and picked up her clothes and put them back on. She walked to the door of 494's cell and turned back around to face him. "494...thanks again."

"You're welcome, 121," 494 said.

The day seemed to go like any other day at Manticore, though the older X-series were clearly nervous about the start of the breeding program that night and by dinner, the tension could almost be cut with a knife. The program was all any of them could talk about.

"I don't think that this breeding program will be that bad," 786 said as she sipped at a spoonful of her soup.

"How can it not be that bad, 786?" 304 said. As usual, she looked incredibly tense. "I don't want to get pregnant!"

_Join the club, 304,_ 121 thought.

"Calm down," 786 said. "Even if the breeding program is successful for you or me or whoever, it won't be that bad. All of the females are going to be put on restricted duty until the program ends or until their pregnancy is over and it's not like we're going to have anything to do with the result afterwards."

_Result? You're calling a baby a result? You fucking whore,_ 121 thought angrily.

"And all of the participating females have that prep class last tonight," 494 said. "That should help answer any questions that you still have about the breeding program, 304."

"I wonder what that's going to cover," 532 said.

"Probably what pregnancy will be like," 121 guessed. "What physical changes come when, what changes in your diet and physical fitness regime that will be made for us over the course of however long a pregnancy will last for us, basically general information like that. The males are lucky. We get to do all of the grunt work for this assignment and they just get the easy part."

"Stop complaining, 121," 908 said.

"Stop ordering me around, 908," 121 retorted.

494 and 511 looked at each other. _Here we go again._ "Both of you, stop it," 511 ordered. "I know that we're all nervous about the start of the breeding program, but that is not an excuse for the two of you to start fighting again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry," 121 said. 908 glared at both 511 and 121 and mumbled her apology.

"Good," 511 said.

237 pushed his empty plate aside and reached for his juice and took a sip. "Okay, guys, who here can't wait for the start of the program tonight? Free sex, people! It can't get any better that!"

"Oh yeah," 013 said. "It's gonna be great." He smirked. "And 295 will finally get some."

"What?" 295 said angrily. "I can't be the only one in this unit that's still a virgin!"

_Well, you might be now,_ 121 thought. _Though I can't speak for anybody else._

"It doesn't matter if somebody's still a virgin or not prior to the start of this program," 494 said. "That is irrelavant." They all looked up as the warning bell rang. "What is relavant is us getting up and getting to our last classes on time. Let's get going, people."

They stood up and put their trays away and marched to their next classes. 121 led the other females in her unit to the lecture hall where they would be having their breeding program prep class and they went inside. She looked around and spotted 849 and 228 and went over to them and sat down next to 849. "Hey, you guys. What do you think of this program?"

849 shook her head. "I don't like the idea of it at all."

"Neither do I," 228 said. "Can't they spare us and just take some eggs and sperm and then in vitro them with the ordinary's ones and put them into some surrogates and then call us in nine months to let us know how it all turned out?"

"I wish," 121 said. "The most that we can hope for is that we aren't successful."

"True," 849 said. "Director Renfro did say during the assembly when she announced the program that if we failed to get pregnant or if the males failed to get the female ordinaries pregnant that it wouldn't reflect on our records since such a matter was beyond our control." She made a face. "We do have to write up reports on our copulation and submit them to Director Renfro every day, though."

"I don't know what's the worst part about that," 228 said. "Writing a report on how I'd just had sex or just writing _a_ report." 121 and 849 laughed.

"That's a tough call," 121 said. They started to continue their discussion, but a trainer and a doctor entered the lecture hall and they stopped talking and listened as the class got underway. 121 couldn't believe some of the things that the trainer and especially the doctor was talking about. _You've got to be kidding me. Morning sickness? We're most likely actually going to be sick for at least a few weeks? Great! Just what I'll need on top of everything else. It'll be bad enough that I'll be pregnant with a baby that I'll--careful, you're starting to go into '09er territory again._ 121 tried to make herself focus again on the trainer and doctor. _Don't think about it. Don't think about it._

Finally, the class broke up and the female X5s in the lecture hall stood up and moved towards the door. "That was something else," 228 said. "It's so nice to know what we've got all that in store for us if we're successful in the breeding program. I'd rather not be successful."

"Me too," 121 said quietly. "I've never wanted to fail a mission before, but I'm wishing for it now."

"So am I," 849 said. "I don't know if I could go through with it if I'm successful. Not because of what will happen to my body if I'm successful, but..."

"...what will happen to our minds if we are successful," 228 finished. "Me too." The three of them smiled at each other.

"Good luck, you guys," 121 said. She took a deep breath and the three of them split up and headed to their cells. She got to her cell and opened the door and went inside and sat down on her bunk and put her head in her hands and sat there for awhile, just trying to take deep breaths to keep herself calm. _I've got to get through this. I've got to--_ Her thoughts were cut off when she heard footsteps approaching her cell and she tensed and held her breath. A few moments later, a male soldier about the age of the X3s and X4s opened the cell door and just stood there looking at 121, a big smirk on his face.

"I hope you like it rough, soldier," he leered.

121 sat there looking at him, taking in everything about him. His stance, the tone of his voice when he'd spoken to her, everything. She felt a spark of hope when she finished her analysis of him. _You know, maybe I can take some control over this situation after all. _She smiled to herself. _I don't know if I would have felt confident enough in the whole situation to have gotten this idea if I hadn't slept with 494 last night. Thanks, 494. You really are a great friend._ She felt herself smiling. _There's nothing like having a friend help you out!_ She stood up and blurred over to the soldier and grabbed him by the shirt collar. "I think you've got it backwards soldier." She turned and practically flung the soldier onto her bunk and stood next to the bunk and bent down over him. "I think I'm the one that should be asking you if you like it rough." 121 didn't know whether to be happy or repulsed when her analysis of the soldier was confirmed when she saw how his eyes lit up when she said that.

"Oh yeah," he said.

"Let's get this straight, soldier," 121 said. She sat down on the edge of the bunk and placed her hands on the soldier's shoulders, pinning him down. "We're both under orders, but this is my cell and while you are in here, you will be taking orders from me. You will not be the one who will be giving the orders. Am I making myself clear?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," the soldier said, grinning.

"Good," 121 said. Pushing aside her disgust, she leaned forward and kissed the soldier.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and Angel of Darkness231 for your reviews and support!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Hit A Sista Back."

A year-and-a-half later...

Director Renfro sat at her desk in her office, looking over some reports when there was a knock at her door. "Come in."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, ma'am," the doctor said. "But the final X-series female who'd successfully participated in the program has given birth."

Renfro looked up. "What is the status of X4-990's offspring?"

"Stillborn, ma'am," the doctor said. "It must have happened recently because we detected a fetal heartbeat during 990's last examination prior to giving birth. I'm sorry."

"No need for you to be sorry, doctor," Renfro said. "What about 990?"

"We performed a C-section on 990, so she has no idea about the death of her offspring," the doctor said.

"Good, keep it that way," Renfro said. She sighed and looked back at the reports. "This is disappointing. More than two hundred X-series females total participated in the program and when it was ended six months ago, only thirty-four of them conceived. Twenty stillborn births now counting X4-990 and another five died shortly after birth from various genetic defects due to the mix of X3, X4, or X5 DNA with normal human genetics. The human female soldiers who participated had a much higher conception rate but the results were similar to those achieved by the successful X-series females. Lydecker and Warren have similar numbers."

"The surviving live births are healthy," the doctor said helpfully. "On both the human and X-series' side. They're developing normally."

Renfro raised an eyebrow. "Developing normally, but on whose scale?"

"On a human scale, ma'am," the doctor admitted. "When the X-series were born, they showed their abilities almost from day one. We anticipated these mixed progeny to display their abilities a little slower than a normal X-series, but they haven't exhibited anything out of the ordinary yet. They appear to be normal human children, except for their DNA."

"I see," Renfro said. "Thank you for the report, doctor." She gestured to the door. "Dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am," the doctor said. He left the office.

Renfro closed folder that contained the report that she'd been reading and shook her head. "Very disappointing." The phone on her desk rang and she picked it up and answered it. "Director Elizabeth Renfro speaking. Yes, how are you? I have the report in front of me and I got an update on the last one of the X-series females here who successfully conceived." Renfro opened the folder again. "The X-series females have only about a two percent success rate conceiving with a completely human male when unprotected and when not in heat. When in heat, the success rate goes up to approximately twenty percent." She listed the rest of the data. "...stillborn. That officially concludes this experiment. They range in age from one month to seventeen months. Nine from the X-series females, the rest from the humans. No, not a single one of them has developed traits yet. They weren't even born with barcodes. None of them were. I see. Yes, I see. How are we going to arrange this? Very well. No, I agree with you completely. Soldiers though they are, we don't want to risk it. Has Lydecker or Warren been informed yet? Lydecker has, Warren hasn't? I see. Yes, I will make the arrangements for this facility the moment after I get off of the phone with you. Absolutely. I will see you at the next meeting. Good-bye." She hung up the phone and pulled a PDA out of one of the drawers of her desk. She tapped the screen a few times before she set it down and picked up the phone again. "Hello. This is Director Elizabeth Renfro from Manticore's facility in Seattle. I need to arrange a pick up. What needs to be picked up? The results of the breeding program that we recently conducted. Thirty-nine children, ranging in age from one to seventeen months." A faint smile crossed her face. "I need them to be picked up for disposal..."

TBC

More notes: I'm sorry this is so short! Also, thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 for your review and support!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

121 tied up her boots, smiling to herself. _It's great not having to wake up to Private Pervert's face! I know I've said that everyday for the past six months, but I can never say it enough. I still can't believe that my prayers were actually answered and that I never got pregnant. Yeah, 786 was almost unbearable when she actually did get pregnant and she lorded it over my head that she succeeded and I failed at the mission, but that's a small price to pay. I can deal with that._

She stood up and stretched and then left her cell. _I wonder if the guys are back from their mission yet. They told me before they left last week that they were going to arrive back here either late yesterday night or sometime this morning._ She turned around and saw the doors to both 494's and 511's cells opening. "Hey, welcome back! How did the mission go?"

"Smooth as silk," 494 said. "We got back last night at around 0100." He grinned. "But we did hear that you passed your test for solo ops. Congratulations, 121."

"Thanks," 121 said.

"What was your score?" 511 said. "Did you beat mine from when I took the test?"

"No, my score was barely less than yours," 121 said, laughing. "It was still really high."

"Well, congratulations anyway," 494 said. "I think that makes you only the fourth X5 here so far who actually took the test before his or her seventeenth birthday."

"Something that I can shove in the faces of 908 and 786 if they start with me," 121 said. She grinned. "Hey, they want to play that game with me? I can play it better."

"So, when do you think—" 511 was cut off when a guard approached them.

"121, Director Renfro wants to see you in her office immediately. You will be excused from lineup and roll call today," he said.

121 nodded. "I'll be seeing you two at breakfast, then." She followed the guard to Renfro's office and went inside when the door was opened for her. She stood at attention and saluted Renfro. "X5-121 reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"Wait a moment, 121," Renfro said. A few moments later the door opened and this time, 849 and 228 marched into the room and also saluted Renfro and stood at attention. "At ease, all of you." She waited for the three X5s to assume the position before she continued to speak. "I'm going to be sending the three of you out on a mission. 121 will be the commanding officer on this assignment." She picked a folder up off of her desk and handed it to 121. "The three of you will be sent to London. King William is allowing some of his private art collection to be displayed to the public for a six week period to raise money for various charities. Some extremely rare and valuable paintings are included among the ones that will be on display. British Intelligence has picked up word that a group of thieves are planning to steal some of these paintings. This particular group is believed to be responsible for the theft of a few of the world's rarest pieces of art. This group is also American, which is why British Intelligence has asked the American government for their assistance in helping to prevent any possible theft of the artwork. The display is scheduled to begin in a week. You will report to mission prep for your final preparations in three days and you will be shipped out to London on the following day. More information is contained in the folder. You are dismissed."

The three girls saluted Renfro and marched back out of the office. When they were out of Renfro's hearing range, 228 squealed. "They're actually sending us out on a mission together! This is going to be fun."

"I hope it will be," 121 agreed. She opened the folder and began to read its contents. "Standard stuff. Our covers, information on our possible targets, even of King William himself." She took a photo out and showed it to 849 and 228. "King or no, this guy is good-looking enough to be one of us."

"I'll say," 849 said. "When do you want to meet up with us to really go over this information?"

121 put the photo back into the folder. "I've got about an hour of free time at the end of my day today," she said. "If the two of you are also free then, we'll meet in the library and start to properly go over this information. Does that sound good to you guys?"

"That works for both of us," 849 said. "We also have free time then."

"Great," 121 said. "I'll see you at around 2200 in the library." She waved good-bye to them and headed back to her cell to drop off the folder before she headed right for the cafeteria for breakfast. She beat her unit there, so she grabbed a tray and some food and sat down at her table and waited for the rest of them to show up, which they did a few minutes later.

"So, what did Director Renfro want with you in her office?" 511 asked.

"I'm being sent out on a mission with 849 and 228. We're heading to London in a few days. We're basically going to be on guard duty for some paintings that belong to the king's private art collection while they're on display in some museum," 121 said.

"How long will you be away?" 494 asked.

"About six weeks," 121 said.

"Thank you," 714 said. She smiled and ate a spoonful of her oatmeal. "This makes my day."

"Hey, I'm always glad to make your life happy, 714," 121 said sweetly.

"Do you always have to be so sarcastic?" 714 said, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder.

"Do you always have to be so prissy?" 121 mimicked.

"Do the two of you always have to argue with each other?" 494 said. 511 and 121 snickered. 714 just rolled her eyes.

"I think it's very good that you're getting out on a mission," 908 said patronizingly. "I hope you'll be as successful at your mission as I'll be on the solo mission that I'm going to be leaving for in two days."

"So you've got to off some diplomat who can't keep his hands out of government funds and his dick in his pants," 121 said. "No big deal. I can pull something like that off with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back."

"You are our best sniper," 511 said. "They'll probably be giving you some assassination solos soon."

"I can't wait until I'm cleared for solo missions," 237 said.

"You've got almost a year until they'll at least consider scheduling you to take the tests," 511 said. "You've got time. Relax."

"Whatever," 237 said. He shrugged and stretched his arms, accidentally nudging 107.

"What! Why did you do that, 237? Did you do that on purpose?" he said nervously.

"No, but I will fucking hit you on purpose if you don't shut your dumb little face," 237 snapped.

494 sighed. "No offense, 107, but why did you sit next to 237 if you get along with him as badly as you do?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to sit down and eat," 107 replied.

"Next time, think ahead," 494 said. He sighed. "I get back and find more of this waiting for me."

121 smirked. "Have fun while I'm gone."

"Gee, thanks," 494 said.

"You're welcome," 121 replied cheerfully.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to calistra, Yeoman1000, and Angel of Darkness231 for your reviews and support! Yeoman1000, 786 wasn't engineered to be a whore, she just happened to turn out that way. It's interesting, though, isn't it? 908's temper will get worse again also. Thank you so much again!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

"You pathetic little bastards are the luckiest little shits alive," the trainer said as he paced back and forth in front of 494, 511, and the rest of the present members of their unit two weeks later. "You get to spar outside for a change because the weather is so damn nice."

"I thought it was because the weirdos are going to be using the gym all day because they're being evaluated," 511 muttered just loud enough for 494 to hear him.

"Do you think they do anything for themselves?" 494 asked.

"Who knows?" 511 said.

"Let's see some action here," the trainer said. "859 and 532, get onto the mats right now. Begin on my whistle." He blew his whistle and the two of them began to spar.

494 shrugged. "532 is still looking pretty weak. She's always dropping her guard once she gets a good offense going…yeah, there goes 859." He had to wince as 859 knocked 532 flat on her back. "That's going to smart for a few days."

The trainer blew the whistle. "That's enough. 859 won this round." He shook his head in disgust. "How many times have I told you never to drop your guard while you are fighting, 532? This could mean life or death in the field!"

"Yes, sir! It won't happen again, sir!" 532 said.

"See that it doesn't happen again, 532, or you will be sent to the brig or solitary confinement the next time that it does," the trainer said. "Both of you, get back in line. 908 and 295, step onto the mats. Begin on my whistle."

"You know, as much as I hate to admit it, it has been a little bit quieter since 121 went on her mission," 511 admitted. He shook his head. "Of course, 908, 786, and 714 have also been acting more full of themselves since 121 left. She does do as good a job as anybody of keeping the three of them in line as anybody can. All things considered, having 121 here is by far the better choice."

"No arguments there, buddy," 494 said. They watched in surprise as 295 took down 908. "Wow. 908 can usually defeat 295 without too much trouble. Then again, she hasn't been having the best week."

"That wouldn't happen to be why you've been enthusiastic to get out of being in the same room as her lately, would it?" 511 teased.

"Look who's talking, 511," 494 said. "Aren't you the one who's racing me to the door every time?"

"True," 511 admitted.

"X5-908," the trainer screamed. "Why in God's name did you make such a beginner's mistake like that? How much training have you received to this point? Even the X8s wouldn't make such a mistake!" He punched 908 in the face. "That was unacceptable! Get out of my sight!" He pointed back to the line. "494 and 786, to the mats this instant!"

494 gave 511 a quick smile. "See you in a few, 511." He walked out onto the mats and waited for 786 to also step up to the mats and to face him. As soon as the trainer blew his whistle, 494 made short work of 786 and had to restrain a smile when the trainer blew his whistle at the end of the fight.

"Fine work, 494, fine work," the trainer said.

"Thank you, sir," 494 said. He saluted the trainer and retook his place at the head of the line.

"Okay, 908, I'm going to be generous and give you another chance. Step onto the mats," the trainer said. "107, step onto the mats. Begin on my whistle." He blew his whistle again, and to almost everybody's surprise, 107 managed to defeat 908 in less than three minutes. The trainer was clearly red in the face when he blew his whistle at the end of the fight. "908! I told you the first time that this was unacceptable and I thought that somebody like you would have the capacity to listen to and understand me!" He punched 908 again, this time hard enough to make 908 stumble the slightest bit back. "Get your pathetic ass back into line before I change my mind and punish you!" 908 saluted the trainer and quickly took her place in line, but not before 494 and 511 got a glimpse of the look on her face. Both of them winced.

"She's going to explode," 511 said.

"If we're lucky, she'll at least wait to explode until she's in the privacy of her own cell," 494 said.

511 looked skeptical. "Do you really think that's going to happen? This is 908. Her temper is almost as bad as 237's."

"Call me an optimist," 494 said, shrugging.

The class went on. Finally, the trainer signaled the end of the class to them. "That's enough, soldiers. You may proceed to whatever classes that you have next."

"Sir, yes, sir!" They saluted him and split up to head to their next classes. 494, 511, 107, and 304 split off from the rest of the group and headed to their Advanced Espionage class.

"Do you think that we're actually going to learn about some new today or are we going to be going over the same old crap?" 511 asked.

"I hope that we'll be covering something new today," 494 said. "I'm starting to get bored in that class. If we're going to be talking about the same old crap, I'm catching up on my sleep. Wake me up if the trainer calls on me if it happens, okay?"

"If I don't fall asleep first, sure," 511 said. "No problem."

They reached the classroom and went inside. 107 and 304 took seats at opposite ends of the classroom and 494 and 511 sat next to each other. "You know, I think we might not have to nap today after all," 494 said. "I'm seeing different books on the desk today and the trainer is going over something else. He only does that when we're learning something new."

"The trainer…why don't you actually call the guy by his name and rank?" 511 asked.

494 shrugged and grinned. "I—" He abruptly stopped and both he and 511 straightened in their seats when the trainer turned around so that he was facing the class.

"Welcome, everybody," the trainer said. "We're going to be covering some new material today. We're going to be going over advanced techniques for espionage in near-artic conditions."

One of the other X5s in the class raised his hand. "Begging your pardon, sir, but isn't that the job of the artic division soldiers and not the X-series?"

"Not quite, 446," the trainer replied. "The soldiers in the artic division are designed for espionage in artic conditions, but we're talking about locations such as the areas in Siberia and in Northern Canada and Alaska where conditions do not quite reach that level and where there are still enough human settlements to the point where it would be difficult for said artic division member to blend in and complete his or her job." He picked up a book off of the desk and started to lecture the class. Twenty minutes into the class, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." A guard opened the door and entered the classroom and whispered to the trainer. The trainer nodded to the guard and turned so that he was facing 494 and 511. "X5-494 and X5-511, your presence is requested in Director Renfro's office immediately."

494 and 511 stood up and saluted both the trainer and the guard before they followed the guard out of the classroom. 494 shook his head. "Looks like you win, 511."

"Yeah," 511 said. "Should I feel happy about it?"

"Let's wait until we hear what Renfro has to say to us before we make a call on that," 494 decided. They reached Renfro's office and after a few more moments, they were allowed inside. They saluted her and waited until she finally told them to stand at ease. Renfro looked at them for another moment or two before she finally began to talk.

"There has been a situation with one of your unit mates," she said. "X5-908 was involved in an altercation with another X5 at the start of their Culture class. Apparently, 908 did not answer a question correctly and when X5-380 correctly answered the trainer after being called upon to do so, 908 attacked 380 completely unprovoked and caused some fairly serious injuries to 380 before the other X5s in the class were able to separate the two of them."

494 and 511 exchanged a quick glance. "What is the status of 908?" 511 asked.

"908 was taken to Psychological Operations," Director Renfro told them. "Based on what has occurred and also on what I've been told of her behavior of this past week, I'm estimating that she will remain there between six to twelve months. The two of you will be notified when a definite punishment has been set for 908." She nodded. "You may return to your class. Dismissed."

They saluted her and left the office. 494 bit his lip. "I'd say not to feel happy about this one."

"You don't have to tell me twice," 511 said. "I'm already not feeling good about what's going on." He sighed. "I never picked 908 to be the biggest loose cannon in our unit and we do have plenty of them, but wow."

"Yeah," 494 agreed. He whistled. "Wow."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to calistra, Yeoman1000, and Angel of Darkness 231 for your reviews and support!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

"So far, it's been a snoozer," 121 remarked as she, 849, and 228 sat inside a coffee shop one afternoon sipping coffee and eating sandwiches. "Those guys haven't made an appearance yet at night and the museum is much too well-guarded and out in the open during the day for them to even think about trying anything then. No complaints here. It's nice to have an easy assignment once in awhile."

"Yeah, this had been a pretty nice deal so far," 228 agreed. She finished the last bit of her sandwich and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "That wasn't a bad sandwich."

849 nodded as she took another bite of her own food. She waited until she had chewed and swallowed it before she responded to her unit mate. "Anything's better after goodness-only-knows how long of eating the food back home, but this really is pretty good." She reached for her coffee. "I might actually miss this when we return in a few days."

"You won't be the only one," 121 said. She finished her own food and waved their waitress over and got the check. She skimmed it over and got out some money and gave it and the check to the waitress. 121 looked at her watch. "The day is young. What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," 228 said. "How about we go window shopping?"

"Sounds fine to me," 849 said. "What do you think?"

"Works for me, too," 121 agreed. "Besides, we leave in two days. This is our last good chance to pick up some nice contraband." They laughed and stood up and left the coffee shop. "Where to? Anybody have any requests?"

"I just feel like wandering around," 228 said. "Let's see where the mood takes us."

"I never liked that phrase," 121 said as they walked down the street.

"I don't care," 849 said. "It's just a phrase." She took a look around. "You think the place will still be standing when we get back?" She sighed. "558 is a very good soldier, but his arrogance can be so damned irritating that I want to strangle him sometimes. I can only imagine how the others are handling him, especially when they're all off duty."

"Your unit is still much more collectively stable than mine ever could be," 121 reminded her. "I don't think even the geneticists who put us together or the people who decided which soldiers went into which units could have predicted what would happen when you threw all of us together. I've got to admit, it's interesting to watch sometimes, but most of us are fucking insane. You guys know me and 494, 786 is a filthy bitch whore, 714 is a prissy bitch, 237 has anger management issues, 107 is a paranoid little fuck, if 304 was a rubber band she would snap if you just brushed her, 295 is ridiculously anal retentive, 665 and 013 are a lot like 786 except that they're not man-whores or at least they aren't that I know of, 859 believes that the world revolves around him, I think that 619 might be obsessive-compulsive but I'm not completely sure about that yet, 263, 578, 532, and 967 are just plain screwed up, and finally we have the mistress of them all. Put 263, 578, 532, and 967 together, add the bitchiness and meanness from 786 and 714 together, and take some of my tendency to be a loose cannon sometimes and you've got at the very least something that comes close to 908." She sighed. "I think that 511 is the only sane one in my unit, or at least he's the least messed up."

228 looked at 121 and grinned. "121, as messed up as it sounds and as he is, I personally think that 237 is the cutest in your unit."

121 groaned. "A: You can't be serious and B: mission aliases until we're picked up at the airport in Boston, remember _Nina_?" She stuck her tongue out at 228 and they all laughed.

"Yes, I remember that one, _Charlotte_," 228 mimicked. "I can't help it if 237 has a great body."

"All of the males have great bodies," 849 said. "I dare either of you to think of one that doesn't have a body that you would define at the very least to be above average."

"Hmm, I don't know," 121 said. "The guy who comes the closest to fitting that criteria has to be 992 from Unit 1 and his body isn't all that bad. He's a little bit too wiry, but he does have some nice, lean muscles."

"He certainly does," 228 agreed. They stopped in front of a store and she looked in the window and sighed. "If only skirts were actually practical to wear during training. That denim one is so cute."

"It's also so expensive," 849 teased.

"I happened to notice that, Amber," 228 said. She noticed the annoyed look on 849's face and rolled her eyes. "No offense, but are you still hung up on the alias that you got? It's been six weeks and you'll only have to use it for another few days. Just let it go already."

"It's stupid as hell," 849 said. "The name Amber itself is okay, I guess, but to add Ruby as a middle name? It makes me want to shoot myself, it's so damn stupid and pretentious. The two of you got lucky and got normal-sounding aliases."

121 shrugged. "Our cover is supposed to be as rich girls. You know as well as Nina and I do that a lot of the time that rich people give their kids the stupidest names, just because they can or worse, to make themselves feel important. Trust me, the thought of that makes me want to throw up as well. But we do only have a few days left, so work with it and then we can kiss Charlotte, Amber, and Nina good-bye. Don't worry."

"I know and I won't worry," 849 assured her. They continued walking along when 849 stopped suddenly in front of another store. "Holy shit, is that the most beautiful thing that you have ever seen in your life? Look at that necklace! That thing is absolutely gorgeous!"

121 turned around and laughed when she saw the diamond-and-ruby necklace in the jewelery store window that 849 was gushing about. "You know, I'm starting to think that they might have gotten one of the telepathic Psy Ops people to go into your brain and poke around in there before they gave you your alias for this mission. Come on, let's keep on going and look for something for the guys. It is really pretty, but there's no way that it's even remotely practical for you to wear it during the day back at home even if it were allowed. Come on."

"I know that, but it's gorgeous!" 849 protested.

228 started to laugh as well. "I think we found another weakness of Amber's."

"Coffee in the morning doesn't count, Nina," 121 said, grinning. "All three of us need caffeine to get ourselves moving when we get up for the day. Okay, we'll go inside but you can't get the necklace. It'll be too hard to get past the morons at home, anyway. A bracelet or a watch shouldn't be too bad and we do have the money from that bank that we robbed when we were bored that one night after our shift was done."

"Thank you," 849 said happily.

"You're welcome," 121 said. "Come on. It's time to play 'rich girls go shopping.'"

"I think I'll love this game," 228 said. They all laughed again and went inside the store.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, yeoman1000, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

"So, what do you--oh, she's back," 494 said as he looked up and saw 121 entering the cafeteria. He waited until she had gotten some food and had sat down next to him. "Great to see you back, 121. How was London? Did the mission go okay?"

"It was a breeze," 121 replied. "Those guys that 849, 228, and I were supposed to be watching out for never showed up. I got some good contraband for you and 511. I'll give it to you later today."

"Thanks," 511 said.

"No problem," 121 replied. She took a look around the table. "Where's 908? Did she go out on a mission?"

494 could see 786 about to deliver a nasty remark, so he held out his hand to stop her. "Unfortunately, she's not on a mission. A few weeks after you and 849 and 228 went to London, 908 got sent to Psy Ops. Apparently, she'd attacked one of the X5s in her Culture class. I don't know why because she's still in Psy Ops so I haven't been able to get that report and I asked 786 since she's friends with 908 and also happened to be in that class and even she didn't know the reasons why."

"It's true," 786 admitted. "Personally, I think 380 was being a bit of a snot when she answered the question that 908 got wrong, but I still don't get exactly why 908 just lost it the way that she did."

"How bad did she lose it?" 121 asked.

"Pretty badly," 786 said. "She went completely apeshit on 380 and gave her one of the worst beatings that I've ever seen before the trainer managed to step in and got her to stop it." She snorted. "Don't even start, 121. I know that you were going to ask me why I didn't stop or order her to stop beating up 380 and if you must know, I tried but 908 pushed me back when I took a step in her direction. She did that to two others who tried to step in before the trainer stopped her."

"You're not pissed off about it?" 121 said, surprised.

786 shrugged. "No, not really. There's no point in being mad about it. I'm sure that 908 didn't mean it and only did it out of reflex."

_Wow, I'm actually hearing something semi-adult coming out of 786's mouth? I wonder if hell is freezing over,_ 121 thought. "Probably." She turned back to 494 and 511. "How long is 908 going to be stuck in Psy Ops?"

"Quite awhile," 494 said. He winced. "Director Renfro said when she called 511 and myself into her office to inform us about 908 that the early estimate for 908's stay in Psy Ops would be anywhere from six months to a full year. A few days after the incident, Director Renfro called me into her office again after she'd gotten the final determination on the length of 908's Psy Ops stay. It's eight months to a year."

"Ouch!" 121 said. "That's...yikes."

"Well, she got what she deserved," 295 said placidly. He took a bite out of his meatloaf and looked up to see 786 and 714 glaring murderously at him. "Quit giving me those looks. You know what the rules are. Because 908 broke those rules to that great of an extent, she fully deserves the punishment that she is currently receiving. I don't care if the two of you are friends with 908 or not. The facts are facts."

"My goodness," 714 said sarcastically. She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I never knew that somebody could be such an anal retentive freak like you are, 295. Since you are just the smartest X-series transgenic alive, can you please tell me if you were born with the rule book stuffed up your behind or did you happen to sit on one by accident when you were a baby and it got stuck there?" She looked at her nails. "I wouldn't know the answer to that question, but I bet that you do."

"The answer to that one is neither, you nitwit," 295 said.

"Wow, he said nitwit. You must have really excelled at Common Verbal Usage," 714 said in mock awe. "786, can you believe it? We're sitting in the presence of a genius!"

"It's amazing," 786 said in the same tone of voice. She pretended to wipe a tear away from one of her eyes. "It just brings tears to my eyes, it really does."

"You are very lucky, 786," 295 said.

"Oh? How am I lucky? Tell me, Einstein," 786 said.

"I know what you do after lights out," 295 said. "What if I went to a guard and reported your activities to him?"

_Oh for crying out loud, just say it. She sneaks out of her cell after lights out most nights to find somebody to fuck. It's not difficult to say,_ 511 thought. "First of all, 295, what 786 does is her business and not yours. Second of all, even if it was her business, it is not your job to report on her because it would be either my job or 494's or maybe even 121's. If you really did want to report it, you would have to go up to one of us and then we would file the report." _And even if one of us did report 786 to a guard or to a trainer, they probably won't do anything because the odds are that 786 fucked him and he wants a repeat performance! _"Let it go, 295."

"Fine," 295 said. Things were relatively quiet for a few minutes until 295 mumbled something under his breath low enough that 494, 511, and 121, who were across and down the table from him didn't understand what 295 had said. Unfortunately, 786 was sitting only two places down from 295 on 295's side of the table and heard what 295 had muttered and rolled her eyes and while 494, 511, and 121 were distracted, she quickly grabbed a roll off of her plate and threw it at 295, nailing him dead-on in the side of the head.

"Maybe that will shut you up, you little asshole," she said.

"786, aside from the fact that was one of the most juvenile acts that I've seen in awhile, that was uncalled for," 494 said. "295, 511 ordered you to let the argument go. The next peep I hear from either of you towards each other today, I will send both of you down to the brig. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," 295 and 786 said.

"Thank you," 494 said. He shook his head and stared down at his tray. "I think I'm starting to get a migraine."

"Don't sweat it, buddy," 511 said. "Just relax. I think that we're safe for the rest of lunch. I think neither 786 nor 295 want to be sent to the brig."

"Ewww! What the hell did you just spill on me, 532?"

"It's called accidentally knocking over my orange juice when I reached for the pepper and if you would just calm down for half a second, 714, you would have noticed me reaching for some extra napkins so that I could help you clean it up but since you're being such a complete and total bitch, how about you just clean up the mess yourself!"

"I think I kinda spoke too soon," 511 muttered.

"You think?" 121 teased. That got a laugh out of both 511 and 494.

"532, help 714 clean up the spill," 494 ordered.

532 sighed. "Yes, sir."

"I feel like I'm working with children sometimes," 494 said.

"It could be worse," 511 pointed out.

"No shit," 494 said. "I just hope this is the worst of it today."

121 raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Don't count on it."

494 thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, I won't."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to yeoman1000, Angel of Darkness231, and calistra for your reviews and support!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Almost two years later…

"I don't understand why 511 had to stop and help that stupid X6," 121 complained to 494 as they and most of the rest of their unit sat down at their usual table at breakfast one sunny morning in May. "Doesn't that little snot 224 know how to assemble an advanced flamethrower by himself?"

"Oh, he knows how to assemble as many weapons as you and I knew how to when we were fourteen," 494 replied. "The kid's not afraid to let people know about it, either. He just wants to suck up to 511 and myself. I don't really like him very much. He knows what he's doing, but I don't know if I would trust him to follow my orders if we were out in the field together. He's a little too arrogant."

908 snorted. "Pot calling the kettle black, 494?"

"I'm not afraid to admit that I can be arrogant sometimes, 908," 494 said. "I might be arrogant occasionally and a whole lot of other things, but at least I don't suck up to my superiors quite the way that X6-224 does."

"Yeah, whatever," 908 said.

"I'm sorry that I'm late," 511 said as he approached the table and sat down across from 121.

"No worries. You've still got plenty of time to eat," 494 said.

511 looked down at his tray. "Yeah…I'm really excited to be eating this crap this morning." He picked up his spoon and ate some of the indefinable contents of his bowl. "Yum, nothing like starting the day with a nice big bowl of sludge."

"Why didn't you get oatmeal or a cold breakfast?" 494 asked. "Not that either of those tastes any better than the mystery hot cereal that you're eating, but at least you can identify them."

"I'm hungry. I just grabbed what was closest to me," 511 said. He ate another spoonful of his breakfast. "Hell, it could be worse. Remember the time when we went on that mission last year, 494, the one where it was you, me, 859, 967, and 714 and we had to infiltrate that ecology conference? Remember the crap that they served there?"

"I remember that one," 494 agreed. "That was a fun mission."

"Sarcastic much, 494?" 121 said, smirking. "I remember how you were bitching about it almost non-stop after you guys got back." She snickered and then bent down and concentrated on eating her oatmeal, just catching 494 flipping her off out of the corner of her eye.

"Now, now, 494, there's no need to be so angry," 511 teased. "We all know how 121 is."

"Oh? And how—" 121 looked up at 511 and suddenly paused and blushed. She felt her heart skip a beat and she quickly composed herself. "—is that?"

"Um…" 511 stumbled over his words for a moment as he glanced at 121. "Tell her for me, buddy?"

"You dug yourself into this hole, 511. I'm not tossing you a rope to get your ass out of it," 494 said. 511 raised an eyebrow and started to reply, but he was cut off by 786.

"Great, our mighty leaders are acting more stupid than X7s," 786 said. "That really gives me hope."

"Give it a rest, 786," 121 said. "It's still early in the morning. Nobody is at their mental peak at this time of the day, the fact that you're never at your mental peak not withstanding. How can you expect anybody to be sitting up straight at breakfast, as perky as can be, and ready to engage in an intellectual discussion about world history?" She smiled when she saw the angry look on 786's face. "Yes, I love you too, 786. Now shut up and finish your breakfast."

"Makes me glad that tomorrow I'll be getting out of here for a few weeks," 511 remarked.

"Where are you going?" 263 asked.

"To the capital of our once great nation, Washington D.C.," 511 said. He shrugged. "I've got to go undercover and assassinate the ambassador from Croatia. I'm not allowed to give you all of the dirty details, but let's just say that this guy loves his illegal activities and I need to take care of him before he's scheduled to leave this country next month. It shouldn't be so bad."

"Have fun and don't cause too much collateral damage while you're there," 121 said.

"Thanks, I'll try my best," 511 said. He grinned. "Will you miss me when I'm away, 121?"

"Of course I'll miss you," 121 said immediately. They locked eyes again and once more, 121 felt her heart skip a beat. The expression in 511's eyes almost mirrored the one in 121's. They quickly looked away just as the warning bell rang.

"It's off to mission prep for me," 511 said cheerfully. "I'll be seeing all of you again at lunch." He waved to his unit and ignored the eye rolls and raised middle fingers from most of them as he left the cafeteria.

"Well, we should get going ourselves," 121 said. She made a face as she, 494, 304, and 107 left the cafeteria and headed down the hallway. "We've got to learn all about Ballroom Dancing."

"Hey, we will be in situations where it will be useful," 494 said, grinning. "We might and most likely will at some point infiltrate some ball or formal dinner where our target will be at and something like ballroom dancing will be required."

"No shit," 121 said as they reached the room. "But if all of these stupid dances are like the waltz that we learned last week, then I'll just take a pass at that whole deal. That dance was boooorrrrrrrr-ing."

"It wasn't that bad," 494 said. They reached the room for their lesson and 107 and 304 walked in. 494 hung back by the door and put a hand on 121's shoulder, keeping her back as well. "121, what was going on between you and 511 during breakfast today?"

"I don't know," 121 replied honestly.

494 looked skeptical. "You don't know? Are you sure about that? The two of you were giving each other some pretty weird looks. I don't think any of the others caught it, but I did and I know the two of you better than anybody here. What was the deal between you and 511 earlier this morning?"

"I'm telling you the truth, 494. I really don't know what happened," 121 said. She sighed. "I wish I knew what happened and what's going on. I don't know, it just…felt different. That's the only way that I can describe it. Something was not quite the way it was yesterday, but I don't have a clue what. You know what I mean?"

"I think I do," 494 said. He still looked at 121 a little bit suspiciously. "As long as it doesn't have any negative impact on anything."

"Hey, you said it yourself," 121 reminded him. "You know 511 and I better than anybody in this facility. You know that we won't let anything get in the way of what we have to do, even if we don't know what that something is. Besides, he's going away tomorrow." She felt something odd inside, but quickly brushed the feeling away.

"True," 494 said. He shrugged. "We'd better get inside. The lesson is going to start in a few minutes."

"Yeah," 121 agreed. "Let's get to it." She followed 494 into the room. The odd feeling that she had, however, also followed her.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to , CrimsonReality, Angel of Darkness231, and to calistra for their reviews and support!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

121 sat on the roof of the building late one night a few weeks later, dangling her legs over the edge and looking out over the complex, smiling to herself. _I just love the view from here. I can see so much of the place. It's really neat._ She zoomed in on some shapes in the distance and snorted. _Even the weird X7s. Could those little freaks be any creepier? I heard that the Wyoming and New York ones were a little less weird. Lucky little bastards._ She looked up towards the roof access and a moment later, grinned and scrambled to her feet. She met 511 halfway between the door and where she had been sitting and gave him a big hug. "Welcome back, 511. How did the mission go?"

"Went great," 511 said. "How have things been around here without my handsome face gracing the halls?"

121 laughed and ignored the slight blush on her cheeks. "It hasn't been too bad. Fortunately, 908 seems to be going through a relatively good phase right now. I mean, she's still her bitchy self, but she hasn't done anything major since she spent that week in Psy Ops eight months ago and she hasn't gotten in trouble or at least been punished for it in the past five months." She grinned. "You got lucky. 786 went into heat and for the I've-lost-count-how-many-ith time, she didn't take herself to isolation when she started to feel the symptoms. I think it was because 494 was called to sub for a trainer to teach a basic martial arts class to those little X8s so I was in charge for the time being and 786 still doesn't take my leadership abilities too seriously. I caught her as she was about to nail 584 from Unit 6 and I had them separated." She smirked. "The fun part of that for me is that I got to threaten to send 786 to the brig the next time that she neglected to bring herself to isolation the next time she went into heat because this was a recurring pattern for her. You should have seen the look on her face when 808 from Unit 6, 532, and those two guards took her off to isolation. It was priceless."

"You sure do love to tempt fate there, don't you?" 511 teased. "You're always antagonizing 786 in one way or another."

"Hey, this time not only was I allowed to do so, it was expected of me," 121 said. They both laughed. "I couldn't help it if it was my duty as the ranking officer in the Unit present to discipline one of the soldiers under my command. Military Protocol 101."

"Where is it written that you have to enjoy it like that?" 511 said.

"Nowhere, but I think this would fall into the category of circumstance," 121 said. She sighed happily and looked back out into the distance. "Does 494 know that you're back from D.C.?"

"No, I went by our cells to drop off my stuff and in theory to go to sleep, but I didn't see or hear either of you in your cells," 511 said. "I thought that at least one of you would be up here so this was my second stop." He shrugged. "No big deal. If I don't catch him before I go to sleep then I'll see him first thing in the morning."

"Okay," 121 said. She turned to look at 511 and once again, she felt that odd jolt when their eyes met. She bit her lip and turned away, but 511 reached out and gently turned her around so that they were facing each other again.

"Actually, it's probably just as well that I couldn't find 494 and that you are the only one up here right now," 511 said softly. "I wanted to talk to you in private."

121 felt her heartbeat speeding up. "Oh? What do you want to talk to me about, 511?"

"I…" 511 started to say, but what he had been planning on saying flew out of his mind and he just stared at 121 for several moments. _Forget words,_ he thought. He leaned forward, reached up with one hand, and gently brought 121's lips down upon his. The kiss was long, slow, and sweet. When the two of them finally parted, 121 looked at 511, her eyes wide.

"511," she breathed. She opened her mouth to say more, but she couldn't. She could barely form a coherent thought. 121 might have been a genetically engineered super soldier, but at that moment the only things that she was aware of were herself, 511, and just how right that kiss felt.

"Shhh," 511 said, his voice still soft. "You don't have to say anything yet." He took a deep breath as he finally recalled what he had wanted to say to 121 before he'd kissed her. "121, you know that you've been my other best friend for pretty much our whole lives. You're always there for me when I need you for anything. You've made me laugh. You…you're just a wonderful woman. Then that morning, the day before I left to go to Washington, D.C., I looked at you and something changed. I saw you differently. Maybe I've been seeing you differently all along, but I didn't wake up to that fact until that one morning. I don't know, but I do know is that I spent every free moment that I had ever since trying to figure out what it all meant and I did." He gently caressed the side of 121's face with one of his hands. "I love you, 121, as more than a friend. I'm honestly and completely in love with you. Nobody has ever meant anything to me the way that you do. Nobody."

121's eyes filled with tears of happiness. "511, I…I feel…" She couldn't speak and took a moment to wipe the tears from her face and to try to get her thoughts together. "I feel the same way. I knew something was different that morning. I couldn't get it out of my head for these past few weeks. I couldn't get you out of my head for the last couple of weeks. I love you, too." She leaned down and kissed him. They wrapped their arms around each other, not breaking the kiss until they both had to breathe again several minutes later. They stood there smiling at each other and they went over to the edge of the roof and sat down and looked out together.

"This is absolutely insane, but I absolutely love the fact that it's insane," 511 said. "You and me, two genetically engineered soldiers that the general public has no clue exist, in love. This definitely won't be a conventional relationship."

121 grinned. "Good thing that neither of us are conventional people."

"The best thing," 511 agreed. "Can you imagine what the rest of our unit, except for 494 of course, would and will say when they find out about you and me?"

"That'll be funny," 121 said. She laughed. "I can see it now. 786 and 714 will definitely make some snide comments, 295 will bitch and moan about how this goes against more or less every single rule in the book, and 908…I'm not sure exactly what we'd get from her, but it'll be either amusing, infuriating, or both. I'm willing to bet both."

"So am I," 511 agreed. "494 will be happy for us, though."

"He will, no doubt," 121 said. "He could tell that something was up at breakfast that morning. If anything, we'll probably get at least one 'I told you so' out of him followed by at least one 'violence doesn't solve anything, 121' after I give him the requisite smack upside the head." She laughed. "849 and 228 will also be happy for us."

"They will be," 511 said. He smiled. "I'm happy for us, too."

121 smiled brightly at him. "So am I."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Yeoman1000, calistra, jracklesfan77, and Angel of Darkness231 for your reviews and support! jracklesfan77, I hope that your question was answered in this chapter. Thanks again, everybody!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: I know that this fic is rated M, but in case anybody is offended by swearing, there is a little more than normal of that in this chapter, including one or two nastier words. I just wanted to warn all of you. I still hope you like it!

"Why are we having martial arts indoors today? It's really nice out," 532 whined as Unit 3 marched towards the gym two months later. "I didn't see a single cloud when we were outside for lineup and roll call and it was nice and warm. This is stupid!"

"I didn't make the decision on the location of our class, 532," 494 said from his place at the head of the line. "We get the schedule and we follow it. It's that simple. I'll admit that it would have been nice to have this class outdoors, but we don't today so we're going to have to deal with it like the adults that we are. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," 532 muttered.

"Funny, I thought rainy weather was supposed to make people act like children when they're cooped up inside," 121 said quietly. She snickered. "Guess whoever said that one never met our unit, huh?"

"Shut up," 786 said from her place in line behind 121. "We both know that 532 is acting like a complete brat, but you do not have to apply that tag unnecessarily to the rest of us. Do you hear me or 908 or 714 whining about how we're going to be sparring inside instead of outside even though the weather is beautiful? I don't know about you, but I don't hear a thing."

"Point taken," 121 admitted. "Let's take a look at who has complained, though: 532, 237, 013, 665, 967, 859, 619, 304…that's almost half of our unit."

786 snorted. "I can't wait until your sorry ass is down in California."

"You and me both, 786," 121 assured her. She grinned at the annoyed snort that she got out of 786. "It shouldn't be that hard of a mission and I'll have a decent amount of off-hours, too. I think it will go pretty well."

"It should," 908 said nastily. "They informed you about the assignment two days ago and you aren't scheduled to leave for another week. You have a ridiculous amount of time to go over the information that you were given and to prepare. If this doesn't go well, we all know who will catch the blame for it."

"You don't have to be a genius to figure that one out, 908," 121 said. "In case you haven't noticed and I guess you haven't because you still seem to think that you're Little Miss Perfect, Director Renfro and the rest of command always put the blame on us when a mission goes south for the winter, whether it's actually our fault or not."

"They did give you a lot of notice for this mission," 304 said. "The last mission that I went on, I got five days notice. You were given nine days."

"That's the name of the game, 304," 511 said. "Sometimes you get two days notice before being deployed, sometimes you get two weeks notice."

"I think it's safe to assume that we all know that little fact, 511," 908 remarked.

"Yeah," 714 said. She brushed her hair away from her face as they entered the gym. "We've all been going on missions for years. We're not stupid."

_And yet you still leave yourself wide open for a good response from 121,_ 494 thought. _Not that I'd really mind and not that you don't deserve it, you little priss._ He decided to be the mature one and head off 121 at the pass. "Nobody is doubting anybody's intelligence, 714." _Out loud, that is._ "Now, the trainer will be here at any given moment so let's get into line and wait for him or her like the good soldiers that I know that we are and if I hear one 'yes, daddy' or similar remark, your ass is mine. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir," the rest of the unit replied. They formed a line and stood there at attention and were actually quiet until the trainer arrived a minute or two later. He looked at the transgenics and nodded in approval.

"Very good," he said. "Very good. Split up into pairs for warm-up and then reform the line. You know the drill." He blew his whistle and the unit split up into pairs and went through their warm-up exercises. 511 and 121 paired up, leaving 494 with 786. Neither of them were too happy.

"Why couldn't you have gone with 511 or 121?" she grumbled as they stretched.

_Why couldn't you have paired up with 908 or 714, you moron?_ "Variety is the spice of life, 786," he said cheekily. He restrained a laugh when he saw the annoyance in her eyes. "Besides, even if I had paired with 511 or 121, that you would be paired with the one that I didn't go with. Would you be happy then?"

786 was quiet for a few moments. "No, not really, though I wouldn't mind being with 511."

494 could hear the real meaning of her words loud and clear and briefly closed his eyes. _511, buddy, please restrain your girlfriend!_ When he didn't see or hear 121 make any move to beat the hell out of 786, he relaxed. "Lesser of the two evils, huh?"

"Actually, it is three evils, oh-so-wonderful leader," 786 said haughtily.

"As if I could forget about myself," 494 said, grinning. 786 rolled her eyes in disgust as they finished their warm-up exercises and then they got back into line and once again stood at attention and kept their eyes glued straight ahead of them as the trainer paced back and forth.

"You have all shown some improvement over the last few weeks," he said. "Especially you, X5-908. It seems that the problem that you've been having is nearly corrected. Excellent progress, soldier."

908 would have beamed if she wasn't in class and under the proverbial microscope. "Thank you, sir."

"Let's test this progress," he said. "To the mats." He looked at the rest of the unit for several moments while 908 stepped out onto the mats and waited for her opponent. He stopped close to the head of the line and nodded. "X5-121, to the mats."

"Let's not waste any time, huh?" 494 muttered under his breath.

"You never know. 908 could actually play nice this time," 511 replied just as quietly.

"Just in case you little pansies forgot, which we all know is an impossibility, we'll go over the rules," the trainer said. "No deliberate use of excessive force, no illegal moves. That includes head-butting, eye-poking, and shots to the groin area. The time limit for today's sparring will be fifteen minutes per pair. The fight will end when either one soldier has won or at the time limit if the fight is still in progress." He looked at all of them and then nodded. "Begin!" The trainer blew his whistle and stepped back as 121 and 908 began to spar. He, as well as the rest of Unit 3, watched with interest as 121 and 908 went back and forth. It seemed like a close fight at first, but it became clear enough within a few minutes that 121 was gaining the upper hand and would most likely win the round. 121 nailed 908 with a roundhouse kick, sending her stumbling back a few steps. 908 made a face and with an angry yell, rushed towards her and slammed a hard kick directly to 121's left knee. 121 shrieked and collapsed to the ground and 908 smirked.

"Who's so high-and-mighty now, you stupid bitch?" she said under her breath. Unfortunately for her, while the trainer might not have heard exactly what she had said to 121, he had seen everything.

"908!" he screamed. "Is your brain made out of Swiss cheese, you pathetic little piece of shit? Were you listening at all when I listed the rules? You were told no deliberate use of excessive force and do not give me any crap about how that was a heat-of-the-moment move. I have been in this service for many years and I know damn well what heat-of-the-moment mistakes look like!" He motioned to the guard that had been standing near the door. "Escort X5-908 immediately to solitary confinement and let them know that she's to remain there for at least one full week."

"Yes, sir," the guard said. He grabbed 908 by the arm and led her out of the gymnasium.

The trainer knelt down by 121, who was sitting on the ground and clutching her injured knee. "How is the knee, 121?"

"Bad, sir," 121 said, gritting her teeth. She rolled up the leg of her pants so that the trainer could take a look and almost all of them had to restrain themselves from wincing.

"I would say so," the trainer agreed. He made a motion with one hand. "494, 511, help 121 down to the infirmary and then return back here."

"Sir, yes, sir!" 494 and 511 saluted the trainer and then immediately went over to 121. 494 went to her left and 511 to her right and the helped her up off of the mat and out of the gym. Once they were out of sight, they dropped their blank expressions.

"Oh my God, sweetheart, are you okay?" 511 asked, concerned.

"I will be eventually, but holy shit, this hurts so fucking bad," 121 said. She hissed in pain. "I don't know what that fucking ass stupid cunt did to my fucking knee, but it is not good. You heard the noise it made when she kicked it, right?"

"Yeah," 494 said. He shook his head. "That didn't sound right."

"So much for Los Angeles," 121 said. "I was looking forward to going to the beach and actually having an opportunity to relax during my off hours." She turned her head to 494, who had a mischievous look on his face. "And 494, one word about me sounding like 714 and I don't care if my knee is shot to shit, your ass is toast."

"Oh, she's going to be fine," 494 said, laughing.

"I would say so," 511 agreed. He turned to 121 as they reached the infirmary and his voice softened. "Are you sure that you're okay, babe?"

"Don't worry," 121 said, smiling despite the pain from her injury. "I'll be okay eventually. It's just a knee injury. As long as you and 494 come and visit me here tonight, it'll be A-okay."

"Consider it done," 511 said. He leaned over to give 121 a kiss, but she quickly nudged him. He looked up with her and she discreetly motioned with her head towards the security camera that was mounted on the ceiling and 511 nodded.

"Oh, don't worry about it," 494 said cheerfully. "When 511 and I come to visit you here tonight, I'll distract the nurse so the two of you can have some alone time." The wicked grin on his face let them know exactly how he wanted to distract the nurse and the three of them laughed before 494 and 511 helped 121 inside.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, calistra, and Angel of Darkness78 for their reviews and support! calistra, as for what other soldiers outside of Alec, Gem, and CeCe will think, we'll most likely see at some point later on. I'm not exactly sure when, though. Thank you all so much again!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

"1, 2, 3, 4...1, 2, 3, 4…good, that's very good," the instructor said to the class of X5s learning ballroom dancing three weeks later. She hit the stop button on the sound system and the music stopped. "I think that it's safe to say that all of you have that dance down. Next we're going to work on the Lambada. I'm assuming that all of you have read the reading materials that you were given after the end of the previous class last week about the mechanics of the dance?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," the X5s replied.

"Good," the instructor said, smiling. "Let's see how well you read and how much you remembered from the last class. I want two pairs to come up first and show me how much you've improved." She looked around. "How about 318 and 446 and 864 and 975?" The two pairs she'd named walked to the center of the room and the instructor changed the CDs in the player and started the music and she and the rest of the X5s watched the two pairs.

"It's really amazing," 494 said as he, 511, 121, and 228 watched the two pairs dance. "It is absolutely mind boggling how somebody who is engineered and born with feline DNA can have so sense of rhythm whatsoever."

121 rolled her eyes and after she made sure that the instructor wasn't watching, reached over and smacked 494 across the back of his head. "Dipshit. 318 can't help it if they threw at least one gene in her cocktail from somebody who is rhythmically-challenged."

"Rhythmically-challenged?" 494 teased.

"Shut up," 121 said, but she grinned. "You know what I mean. Besides, you are one to talk, 494. Remember when we learned how to cook when we were sixteen? When they were teaching us how to bake cookies, you were the one who set off the smoke detector in the freaking room and got all of us drenched because of the sprinkler."

"That wasn't me, that was 107. I was the one who made the Vomit Chili." 494 smirked. "Looked like vomit, tasted like vomit, and it probably would have made the trainer vomit if he'd tasted it."

"You're disgusting," 228 said.

"Proud of it," 494 said.

"Speaking of proud of it," 511 said, turning to look at his girlfriend somewhat suspiciously. "I think that 121 owes us an explanation as to why she was looking so damn smug at breakfast earlier this morning."

"Sure," 121 said. "You guys know that I missed lineup and roll call this morning because Director Renfro called me into her office, right?" She saw the other three nod. "She was letting me know that I was being assigned to another mission since I had to pass on the L.A. mission because of the knee injury." She grinned. "Guess who's shipping out to the Caribbean in five days for an entire month?"

494's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me. You're going out there for an entire month? Why?"

"To piss you off," 121 replied. She grinned. "Seriously, the basics of it are that I've got to keep an eye on some businessmen down there while they are on their vacation." She laughed. "This is going to be much better than the assignment that I had to give up."

"It sounds like it," 511 said. "So, why didn't you say anything about it when we were at breakfast?"

"It wasn't going to be fun," 121 said. "714 is still down in California and she won't be getting back until after I'm scheduled to leave, 908 is locked up in isolation because she's in heat so out of the three psycho bitches, only 786 was at breakfast today. It's much more fun to drop something like this on them if the three of them are together so that I can see the horror on their faces multiplied by three. It's great, it really is. The more of them that are in the same place at the same time, the more pissed off they get when I say or do something. They really seem to feed off each other sometimes."

228 laughed. "You are so bad, 121."

"Proud of it, 228," 121 said smugly.

"That was very good," the instructor said. "318, you need to pick it up a little bit. You were having a hard time keeping up with 446. Try to watch it for next time, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," 318 said.

"Next two pairs," the instructor said. She looked the X5s over once again. "121 and 511 and 228 and 494." She waited for the four of them to take their places in the center of the room before she re-started the music. When she stopped the music several minutes later, she was beaming with approval. "Wonderful! All of you did a great job. 511 and 121, you really captured what this dance is all about. Did you see the chemistry that you need to portray when you are dancing the Lambada? That is how it is done. You may sit back down." The four of them saluted the instructor and then returned to where they'd been sitting before.

"Yeah, nice job," 494 said. "You two looked like you were this close from fucking each other in public."

"Hey, you read that book. It's not called the forbidden dance for nothing," 121 said.

"You haven't gotten laid in awhile, have you?" 511 asked with mock sympathy.

"I refuse to dignify that with an answer," 494 said.

"Whatever you want to say, buddy, whatever you want to say," 511 said.

"As a matter of fact, I have plans for tonight," 494 said. "Did you see the new nurse down in the infirmary? She's gonna—"

"I know that I don't want to hear what you want to do with that poor nurse tonight and I've got a pretty good feeling that 228 doesn't want to know either," 121 interrupted.

"Okay, okay, okay," 494 said. He grinned mischievously. "Why not, 121? It's not like it won't be anything that we didn't do."

"Exactly," 121 said sweetly. 511 and 228 caught onto what 121 was trying to get across and had to cover their mouths so they wouldn't laugh out loud. 494 shook his head.

"I'm deeply hurt, 121," he said in mock disappointment. "I really, truly am."

"Oh, you'll get over it," 511 said. He grinned and slapped 494 on the back.

"I might," 494 said. "Especially if I get a little help from 228. What do you say, wanna give me a kiss and make it all better?"

"Is it physically possible to kiss a bruised ego?" 228 teased.

494 shook his head. "Is it written down somewhere that I have to be ridiculed this morning?"

"Oh yeah, didn't you see it?" 511 said. "It was right there when we got our schedules for today. From 0915 until 1115, 494, 511, 121, 107, and 304 have Mission Skills—Ballroom Dancing/Insulting 494 in Room 27."

"How could I have missed that?" 494 deadpanned.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Yeoman1000, Angel of Darkness231, and calistra for their reviews and support! This fic might be kind of happy right now, but it'll take another dramatic turn soon!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

One month later…

511 lay on top of his bunk for several minutes after the lights went out. After the guards were out of sight and out of hearing range, he got up and he went over to the door of his cell and opened it. On either side of him, 494 and 121 also opened their cell doors and all three of them stepped out into the hallway. "Should we go?"

121 adjusted the strap of the duffel bag that was slung over one of her shoulders and nodded. "Yeah. How much do you want to bet that 849 and 228 will beat us up there?"

"I don't know. I don't have any cash on me at the moment," 494 said. 121 rolled her eyes, but she didn't say anything.

They quietly made their way through the building and to a stairwell. They went up until they got up to the roof level and opened the door and walked out onto the roof and sat down. A few minutes later, the door opened again and 849 and 228 walked out onto the roof and joined the other three X5s.

"Well, we're here," 849 said. "What have you got for us, 121?"

121 grinned. "Something for everyone." She unzipped her duffle bag and brought out a bottle and held it up. "Caribbean rum." She handed the bottle to 849 and stuck her tongue out at 494 when he made a face. "Like I said, you baby, I have enough for everyone." She reached back into the bag and took out another bottle and handed it to him and then got out a bottle each for 511 and 228 before taking out one for herself. They unscrewed the caps off of their bottles and then raised them. "Salut. Here's to us."

"Here, here," 494 agreed. They touched their bottles and he took a swig from his. "Nice. Thank you, 121."

"You're welcome, 494," 121 said. "Oh, that reminds me." She put her rum down and reached back into her bag and took something out and handed it to 511. "Ask and you shall receive."

"Oh?" 511 said curiously. He looked at what 121 had handed to him and his jaw dropped and he just sat there speechless for a few moments.

228 looked at him oddly. "I know that it can't be the alcohol that's making you act weird, so what gives?"

"Thank you," 511 said. He leaned over and kissed 121 and then held out what she had handed to him. "Feast your eyes on this!" It was a picture of 121 on the beach wearing a bikini.

"You actually had a picture taken of yourself? Are you fucking crazy?" 228 said.

"I had to fit in, remember?" 121 said. "It was a vacation. People on vacation take pictures of each other. Don't worry, those negatives do not exist anymore. That trail is squeaky clean. I know what I'm doing." She grinned. "Besides, he asked me for a picture of myself in a bikini so I gave him one."

"You are just too much," 849 said, laughing.

"You're damn right I am," 121 agreed.

"There's something else that I can't believe," 228 said. "Look at that tan! I wish that we could get a tan like that here in Seattle."

"You're so fair that even if we could get a tan like this here, you'd probably burn quickly," 121 pointed out.

"I know," 228 said. She sighed dejectedly. "I can't help wishing, though."

"Nothing wrong with that," 121 agreed. She drank some more of her liquor.

"So, what else did you do there besides work on your tan?" 494 said asked. "Did you get to kick some ass or was it pretty much babysitting?"

"Babysitting, though I did have to assassinate one of the businessmen before I came back here," 121 said. "It was easy. I could do sniper assassinations in my sleep."

511 looked at her. "You don't feel weird about it?"

121 snorted. "Normally I do have some regrets when I have to complete an assassination, but this guy on more than one occasion when he, the rest of the men, myself, and the rest of the eye candy would go out drinking at night, he'd get drunk and pretty much try to rape me. He deserved anything and everything. I shudder to think how many times that he actually did get drunk and possibly rape somebody back in his home country."

"Did he get that far?" 511 asked, clenching his fists in anger.

"Don't worry, sweetie," 121 said. She smiled and gently touched the side of 511's face. "I'd never let him get that far with me and if he tried to do something to one of the other girls, I'd slip something into his drink to knock him out. Nothing happened."

494 looked around and quickly decided to break the tension. "Well, I don't know about any of you, but I wouldn't mind some female companionship when we go back inside." He turned to 849 and grinned wolfishly. "What do you say, 849? You, me, my cell, and we keep the rest of my unit up all night?"

"No way," 849 said, laughing. "No offense, 494."

"Darn," 494 said, pretending to be disappointed. "Now what am I going to do?"

"There's always 786," 121 teased.

"I would if I didn't have any kind of standards," 494 said.

"My goodness, that woman is a complete whore," 228 said. "How many people do you think she's screwed?"

"Who knows and who cares?" 511 said. "What do you think should be considered to become a part of the regimen in Psy Ops? Being locked in a small room with 786, being locked in a small room with 908, or being locked in a small room with 714?"

"Hey, you're forgetting 237, 665, 013, 107…" 494 quipped. They all laughed. "That is a tough one. Being stuck in a small room with any of them for hours on end would be an effective method of torture for them to use in Psy Ops."

"Okay, I'll ask a different question," 511 said. "What would be your preferred method of transportation when you're outside on a mission? Car or motorcycle?"

"Motorcycle. Easy," 121 said immediately. "A racing-type bike and not a cruiser. One with an engine of no less than 600cc. I got to use one on a mission and it was the absolute best thing. I would love to take it out when I had off hours and I would just go blasting around corners and weaving through traffic at high speeds." She grinned.

"I'd have to agree with her," 849 said. "Cars are nice, but there's just something that almost…speaks to you about motorcycles."

"I've got a question," 228 said. She had a mischievous look on her face. "Have any of you ever done anything silly on a mission?"

"Define silly," 494 said.

"Sure," 228 said. She took a sip before she continued. "Really incredible juvenile behavior. For instance, mooning, toilet papering either private or public property or both, or anything like that?"

"Oh yeah," 494 said. "On this one mission a few years ago when I had to go to South Carolina, I was with 786, 714, 013, 665, and 619 and we went to hang out with this group of farm kids and we went cow tipping." He shrugged. "I didn't see the point of that, though 013 and 619 and those kids thought it was hilarious."

"I remember one time about five years ago when myself and several other members from my unit had to infiltrate this gang of kids," 849 said. "228 didn't go on the mission. We had to go undercover with this gang because Manticore had gotten intel that one of the members was secretly working with his senator father to supply weapons and funds to a foreign terrorist group. The gang for the most part was relatively harmless and loved to engage in that sort of juvenile behavior. They were particularly fond of throwing eggs at passing cars." She brightened. "Oh! One time we did go streaking and they made 558 do it." She snickered. "Let's just say that I'm pretty sure now that his arrogance is a cover for certain…shortcomings."

"121, is the same true with 494?" 228 asked, grinning.

"Why? Are you trying to suggest something?" 494 asked.

"No, I'm female. It's hard wired into those two X chromosomes of mine to ask that sort of a question," 228 retorted. She stuck her tongue out at 494. "Well, 121? What does the survey say?"

"Unfortunately, that is not the case for 494," 121 said. "He doesn't have any shortcomings with regards to that area of his anatomy." She paused thoughtfully and then reached over and down the front of 511's pants, who almost jumped in surprise. She pulled her hand out and grinned. "He's even better."

"Thanks," 511 said happily.

494 looked uneasy. "Do we have to continue this line of discussion?"

"I don't mind continuing," 121 said. "How about everybody else?"

"Hey, as long as we keep talking about how well-endowed I am, I don't mind at all," 511 said cheerfully. That got a laugh out of all of them, even 494.

"This is great," 849 said. She took a swig of her rum and looked out at the surrounding area. "I feel sorry for the little freaks out there. It's got to suck to have no real mind of your own."

"Or have no real face of your own," 228 agreed. "One face, essentially one mind…that's got to be tough." She shrugged. "Then again, if they're so hive minded as they are, they don't notice and it doesn't matter to them."

"Yeah, true," 121 said. She grinned. "Hey, if you want to talk about sharing one mind, let's ask these two guys what it's like." She pointed to 494 and 511.

"I thought you loved me," 511 teased.

"I do," 121 said. She leaned over and kissed him.

"Awwww," 849 and 228 said.

"Gag me," 494 said.

"Glad to," 121 said. She smiled again. "Did any of you see how…"

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

About one year later…

121 woke up and yawned. She picked her head up and looked over to where her watch lay on top of the dresser in the cell and zoomed in on it. _0500. I've got about an hour before I have to be up. Excellent._ She smiled and lay her head back down on the pillow and snuggled closer to 511. _This is how to wake up. I could get through anything if it means waking up to his handsome face!_

511 stirred, blinked his dark eyes, and turned to face his girlfriend. He smiled. "Good morning, sweetheart. How long have you been up?"

"Just a minute," 121 assured him. She gave him a kiss. "It's only 0500. We've got a lot of time before I have to get my ass back in my own cell."

"It's a nice ass, too," 511 said, grinning. "Since we do have that much time before we officially have to be up for the day, what do you want to do?" He leered at her. "Wanna go for another round?"

121 laughed. "Oh, I'd love too, but then you'd wear me out for the day and we've got the two-unit round of Capture the Flag against Unit 4 this afternoon and if I'm too tired because of you for that, 849 and 228 will never stop teasing me about it." She gave him a kiss and got up out of the bunk and started to pick up her clothes, knowing full well that 511 was watching her. She turned around and blew him another kiss before she started to put her clothes back on.

511 pouted. "You can be such a tease sometimes, 121."

"And you can be so damn sexy when you pout like that," 121 said. She walked back over to the bunk and sat down on the edge and leaned down and gave 511 another kiss. "Unfortunately, I should get going. I'll actually have time for a nice, long hot shower this morning." She stood back up and twirled around. "What do you think? Do I look presentable in case anybody sees me or do I look like 786 after she gets back from her late night activities?"

"You look fine," 511 said. He grinned. "Nobody can tell that you had mind-blowing sex last night unless you walk funny."

"It's a good thing that I like a sense of humor in a man," 121 said. She smiled. "Especially you." She blew 511 one more kiss and left the cell. She walked the few steps to her own cell next door and she'd reached for the handle on the door when she heard a faint noise coming from down the hall. Curious, she walked down the hall until she could place the sound.

_That definitely sounds like somebody puking._ She frowned. _Not only that, but it's coming from 908's cell. Is she sick?_ She actually felt concerned, which surprised her. _Well, as much as I hate 908, she is one of my unit mates._

She walked over to the door of 908's cell and peeked through the door grating. The door to the cell's bathroom was open and 121 could see 908 leaning over the toilet, vomiting. What shocked 121 about the scene the most, though, was the fact that it appeared that 908 had one finger down her throat. _What the fuck? Is she actually making herself throw up? Why the hell would she do that?_ 908 suddenly picked her head up from the toilet and looked in the direction of her cell door, frowning. 121 jumped back. She head a toilet flush and a few moments later, the door opened and 908 stood there, glaring at 121.

"What the fuck do you think you were doing, you little whore?" she hissed. "Were you spying on me?" She narrowed her eyes, the expression on her face becoming even more suspicious. "Why were you up and in the hallway this early in the morning, anyway?"

121 thought quickly. "I woke up at 0400 and I was unable to get back to sleep. After I'd tried for a little while, I gave up and I left my cell. I heard that 511 was awake in his cell, so I went in there and we were talking for awhile, mostly about possible strategies that we could go over with 494 later for the round of Capture the Flag that we have against Unit 4 this afternoon." 908 nodded slowly, apparently believing 121. 121 gave a mental sigh of relief and smirked. _And now, to make sure that she believes me…_ "I'm so sorry to disappoint you and not have something that you could report my ass on, 908."

"My, my, my. Somebody is evil first thing in the morning," 908 snapped.

"You wrote the book on that one, 908. You should know," 121 said cheerfully. The cheer faded from her face and she became concerned. "But seriously, 908. Are you okay? I heard you being sick in your bathroom."

908 shrugged. "I'm fine. It's probably something that I ate yesterday at dinner. That meatloaf looked awfully suspect. We all noticed that. Everybody's been saying that somebody's going to get sick one of these days from the shit that they feed us and I got to be the lucky one to get sick first from it. That's all."

"Is it?" 121 said suspiciously. _She's definitely lying. It's obvious as hell._ "908, I saw you gagging yourself. You were making yourself throw up. That is not normal." She sighed. "I don't want to snap at you, believe it or not. Are you okay?"

"Look, you miserable little piece of filth, I am perfectly okay," 908 snapped. "What I do during my own time is none of your business. You will not report this to anybody. You will not tell anybody about this, not 494, not 511, and especially not Director Renfro. Am I making myself clear, soldier?"

121 felt her temper rising and tried hard to keep it in check. "Let me make one thing _crystal_ clear to you, soldier. You have not been in any kind of position to give me orders for quite awhile now. If pull another stunt like that again, you're going to be spending time in the brig for insubordination. As for…your physical status…" She purposefully trailed off and then sighed as if in defeat and she saw 908 relax the slightest bit. _Good. She bought it._ "Just make sure that you're ready for lineup and roll call on time this morning, 908."

"Yes, ma'am," 908 said. She went back into her cell and shut the door.

_Don't report this to anybody, huh?_ 121 thought as she marched back up the hallway. She passed her own cell and continued on towards Director Renfro's office. _I heard that she lives on site and that she's an early riser. She should be in her office already._ As she approached the office, she saw two armed guards standing to either side of the door. _Damn, I'm good._ She stopped in front of the door and snapped to attention. "X5-121. I wish to see Director Renfro."

"One moment, 121," one of the guards replied. He took out a walkie-talkie. "Ma'am, there's an X5 here to see you."

"Send the X5 in," Renfro said. The guard nodded and opened the office door and motioned to 121, who marched in and stood at attention in front of Renfro's desk. "Ah, 121. What do you need to see me about this early in the morning?"

"Permission to speak, ma'am," 121 said.

"Granted," Renfro said.

"Ma'am, after obtaining the four hours of sleep that I require every night, I was feeling restless and I heard 511 also awake in his cell, so I went over and we started to go over strategies to discuss with 494 later concerning the round of Capture the Flag that our unit is schedule to execute against Unit 4." _Gotta keep my story consistent._ "I was returning to my own cell when I heard the sounds of somebody vomiting. After a few moments, I was able to determine that the sounds were coming from the cell of X5-908 and that it was 908 herself who was vomiting. Not only was she vomiting, ma'am, but when I looked inside her cell via the door grating, her bathroom door was wide open and I could see her kneeling in front of the toilet with her finger down her throat. She was forcing herself to throw up, ma'am."

Renfro looked shocked, which surprised the hell out of 121. "I see. What happened next?"

"908 noticed my presence at her cell door and ceased her activity," 121 replied. "She opened the door and asked about the purpose of my presence just outside of her cell. When I inquired about her status, she became hostile and displayed behavior that bordered on insubordination. After getting 908 to calm down, I came straight here, ma'am."

The shock had mostly faded from Renfro's eyes by that time, but she still appeared to be a little thrown, as well as contemplative and definitely angry, though 121 felt pretty sure that the anger wasn't directed at her. "I see. Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention, 121. I will be discussing it with the correct people and a decision will be made by the end of the day concerning the status of X5-908. When a decision is made, 494, 511, as well as yourself will be informed. You are dismissed."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" 121 saluted Renfro and turned around and marched out of the office and back to her cell. _A decision on her status…should I be feeling worried?_ She bit her lip as she approached her cell door. _Yeah, I probably should._

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, Yeoman, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: More heavy-duty swearing in this chapter.

Units 3 and 4 marched out of the woods, Unit 3 looking triumphant and most of Unit 4 looking less happy than their fellow X5s. They formed two lines in the yard and waited for the trainers to come by to debrief them.

"That was a close one," 494 said. He turned his head so that he could see 849 directly behind him. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Damn near a dead heat," 849 agreed. "620 and I were damn close to your flag when you radioed in that you'd gotten our flag. Two more minutes and we would have gotten it."

"It wouldn't have been that close if we'd had 908 on our side," 786 said, turning her head to glare at 121.

121 closed her eyes for a moment. _Great. 908 gets called to Director Renfro's office at breakfast and hasn't been seen since and 786 and 714 automatically blame me. I know that for once, at least part of the blame does rest on my shoulders, but this shit is seriously getting old, not to mention that there is no way that those two should know that I told Director Renfro that 908 had been making herself puke this morning._ "Drop the bullshit, 786. You say the same crap no matter what, even when 908 goes to isolation when she goes into heat four times a year. It's getting tiresome."

511 looked around and saw the trainer approaching them and sighed in relief. "Saved by the trainer." When the trainer got closer, they all straightened to attention and stood there as they were debriefed. Finally, the trainer finished and dismissed them. 511 grinned. "Well, we've actually got free schedules until lights out. How about that?"

"I've got to get something from the cafeteria," 494 said. "I wish we didn't have to miss dinner."

"Men," 228 teased. "Are you always thinking with your stomachs?"

"They don't always think with their stomachs, 228," 849 said, grinning. "When they aren't thinking with their stomachs, they're thinking with their dicks. Remember?" She, 121, and 228 laughed.

"I happen to disagree with that statement. We do happen to use our brains at least some of the time," 494 said. "As a matter of fact, I believed that I was using my brain when—" He stopped abruptly when a lab tech approached them. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Yes," the tech said. "Director Renfro wants to see you, X5-511, and X5-121 in her office immediately."

"We'll be there," 494 promised. The lab tech nodded and went back to the building.

121 exchanged nervous looks with the other four, who knew about what had happened early that morning. "Well, I guess we shouldn't keep Director Renfro waiting."

"Just find us when you can," 849 said reassuringly.

"Thanks," 511 said. "We will." He, 494, and 121 marched inside and towards Renfro's office. When they arrived at the door, the guards simply nodded to them and gestured them inside. They opened the door and went inside and formed a line in front of the desk.

"X5-494 reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"X5-511 reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"X5-121 reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"At ease," Renfro ordered. She waited for a moment. "I brought all three of you in here because I have a status update on X5-908. As you all know, I called 908 into this office after lineup and roll call. From here, I sent her directly to Psychological Operations." She got up from behind her desk and began to pace in front of the three X5s. "I got the report back from the people down there about an hour-and-a-half ago and since then, I have been determining a course of action." She stopped her pacing. "X5-908 has officially been diagnosed with bulimia." Renfro looked closely at 494, 511, and 121 for a reaction from any of them. "You learned about the disorder in the Psychology classes that you have taken, correct?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," the three of them replied.

"Very good," Renfro said. "908 will be kept for various forms of…treatment…in Psychological Operations for a period of no less than two years. You will of course be informed when 908 has been cleared to return to active duty. Do you understand?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am."

"That is all," Renfro said. "Dismissed."

494, 511, and 121 saluted her and left the office. As soon as they went around the corner and were out of the sights and hearing ranges of the guards, they stopped. 121 leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh. "Oh man, that was even worse that I'd thought it would be."

"You did see her forcing herself to yark," 494 pointed out.

"I know," 121 said, unable to keep a small smile off of her face at 494's use of the slang despite the circumstances. "But you know as well as I do that sometimes even when you see something or part of something, it still doesn't prepare you when the whole truth of it smacks you in the face."

494 nodded. "I know."

"What's the plan now, boss?" 511 asked.

"We've got to let everybody know," 494 said. "Let's find everybody and get them together and give them the heads up."

"I'm going to get such a fucking backlash for this if and when they find out that I'm the one who ratted 908 out to Renfro," 121 said, groaning.

494 put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, 121. 511 and I will head off any kind of backlash that you might get from any of those assholes." He straightened out. "I know that some of them are going to be in the rec room and the rest of them were going to the library. 121, come with me and we'll gather up our people in the rec room. 511, go to the library and tell our guys who are in there to stay there and if there are any other transgenics in there, try to clear them out. We need as much privacy as we can get. This is probably going to get messy."

"Yes, sir," 511 said. He nodded and went off in the direction of the library.

"Let's go," 494 said. 121 nodded and the two of them went to the rec room. 494 opened the door and poked his head in. "786, 714, 013, 237, 578, 665, and 304, we're meeting in the library immediately. Come with me." He and 121 heard several of them grumbling but all of them stopped what they had been doing and let 494 and 121 lead them to the library. When they got there, they saw the rest of their unit mates, including 511, sitting around a large table. The rest of the library appeared to be deserted. 494 gestured for them to have a seat, which they all did. 121 made sure to take a seat at the head of the table close to 494 and 511.

"So, what the hell is this about?" 237 asked.

"We just got some news concerning 908," 494 said.

"What about her? Is something wrong?" 786 asked.

"Unfortunately, the answer to that one is yes," 494 said. "According to Director Renfro, 908 has been diagnosed with having the eating disorder bulimia. She will be treated in Psy Ops for at least two years."

"What the flying fuck? Are you kidding me?" 714 exploded.

"Unfortunately, we aren't kidding you," 511 said. "We're telling you what Director Renfro told us."

"How the hell did Director Renfro know about 908?" 578 said suspiciously. She crossed her arms across the chest. "I know what bulimia is, but if 908 was to have been diagnosed as having the stupid disorder, then Director Renfro had to have found out about it somehow."

494, 511, and 121 exchanged a quick glance and 121 barely nodded. _I might as well get it done and over with._ "Director Renfro knows because I informed her," she said. She repeated what she had told Renfro that morning.

"Oh, fuck you!" 786 yelled. "I knew it! I fucking knew it! I knew that one of these days, your stupid '09er twin ass would do something like this and screw us all over. You get over here right now you goddamn fucking twat and get what you have coming!" She got out of her chair and raced towards 121, but 511 anticipated this and shoved 786 back. "What the fuck was that for, 511? That little rat-faced bitch deserves this and you fucking know it!"

"I do _not_ deserve whatever it was that you were going to do, 786," 121 said icily. "Whether you or anybody else chooses to believe it, I acted out of concern for 908's health. Regardless of how she acts towards me and how I act towards her, she is still a part of this unit and so I did feel genuine worry when I saw her making herself throw up this morning. And if you still don't believe that fact, and I'm willing to bet that most if not all of you don't believe it, then the fact still stands that I am third in the chain of command of not only this unit, but of the entire Seattle X5 squad and I'm an officer and as such, it is my responsibility to report anything out of the ordinary and potentially harmful like this to Director Renfro."

"Do you think that I give a shit about all that garbage you just said?" 786 said angrily. "Do you really think that I'd bought any of it? That's the biggest load of crap that I've ever heard you fucking bitch! I know that you got 908 in trouble and sent to Psy Ops for two years just because you are a pathetic little whore!" She made another move towards 121.

"That's it! 786, sit your ass down right this instant!" 494 snapped. 786 stopped in her tracks, but she didn't make any kind of move to sit back down in her seat. 494 noticed and glared at her. "786, I am giving you an order. Sit back down in your chair or I'm going to make sure you're going to spend some time in the brig or solitary confinement."

"Really?" 786 said insolently.

"I said sit!" 494 ordered angrily. 786's eyes widened and she sat down. The others, even 511 and 121, looked at 494 a little nervously. None of them had ever heard him use that tone of voice before. "Now, I will have no more of this crap. What happened was not 121's fault. She acted out of concern for 908's safety and I want you all to remember that. Especially you, 786. Aren't you 908's friend?" 786 nodded and 494 continued. "I mean this. No more of the kind of shit that 786 just pulled or you will be punished immediately. Am I making myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir," the rest of the unit replied.

"Thank you," 494 said. "Dismissed." Most of the unit, with the exception of himself, 511, and 121 left the room and 494 let his breath out and sank back in his chair. "Fuck. I didn't mean to be that…asshole."

"You weren't being an asshole, you were being a commanding officer," 121 corrected. "It freaked me out a little, but I completely understand." She smiled. "And thank you for getting 786 off of my butt."

"You're welcome," 494 said.

511 nodded. "That did scare me a little bit too, boss. But 121 was right. You did what you had to do." He waited for 494 and 121 to stand up. "What do you want to do now?"

"Let's find 849 and 228 and fill them in," 494 said. "After that, I just want to find someplace to relax until lights out."

"You and me both," 121 agreed.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 and calistra for their reviews and support!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

One year and four months later…

"Come on, people, let's pick up the pace," 494 said over his shoulder to the rest of his unit as he led them through the facility. "If we don't hurry it up, not only will we be late for our time at the firing range, but those X6s behind us will be running us over." He heard snickers from 511 and 121 and grinned.

"Who gives a shit about the little brats?" 786 said disgustedly. "Can we just shut up and keep going?"

"Keep it down, 786," 511 said.

They were silent for a few moments. "I hope we're going to use automatic weapons today," 237 said. He cracked his knuckles and gave a rare smile.

"If that's what you choose to practice with today, then that's what you'll use," 494 said as he pushed open the doors leading to the courtyard. "It's pretty much a free session there today. We're just supposed to spend the hour we've been allotted there to just practice with whatever gun or guns that we want."

"Good. I need some more work with that new pistol," 121 said.

"It looks like the overgrown idiot might just not be good at every single thing after all," 786 remarked.

121 snorted. "Gee, somebody's still in a bad mood because I beat your time by seven full seconds when we went head-to-head on the obstacle course this morning. Have you ever heard of Prozac, 786? I heard that it helps people like you."

"Whatever, bitch," 786 said dismissively.

121 stopped and turned around to face 786. "Excuse me? Have you ever heard about going through an entire day without calling me a bitch for once in your life? I know you're a genius so it's not out of your capabilities."

"Oh, brother, don't let this happen," 511 mumbled when he and 494 stopped and turned around. He glanced at 494, who nodded in agreement.

"Don't blame me if I just call them like I see them, 121," 786 replied sweetly.

"Hey, if you want to talk about calling them like I see them, then I'm surprised that your legs aren't stuck about a mile apart from each other," 121 retorted. "I mean, they're spread wide out so damn much of the time I wouldn't be surprised if that happened to you one of these days."

"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" 786 snapped.

"121, don't say anything. Just let it go," 494 half ordered, half begged. 121 nodded to him and turned around, still obviously angry at 786, but 786 wasn't happy about that and before anybody could react, she yanked 121 around and then slapped her across the face. There was a collective gasp from the transgenics in the area and before 494 or 511 could stop her, 121 lunged for 786 and they started to fight.

"That's it, you two! Break it up this instant!" 494 ordered. He tried to grab for one of the two struggling women, but had to quickly back up in order to avoid getting an elbow in the face. "I mean it! Stop right now!"

"Oh, fuck you," 786 snapped. 121 took advantage of the lapse in concentration on her part and punched her in the face. 786 shrieked and belted 121 in the stomach and the two of them continued at it.

"Stand down now!" 511 said. He also tried to grab 121, but he had to duck to avoid an attempted slap by 786. "121, 786, I am warning both of you…" He heard snickers from several of his unit mates and turned around and glared at them. "Your encouragement of this is not needed, not wanted, and _very_ highly discouraged. Am I making myself clear?" He thought he heard a few of them mumble 'yes, sir,' but he was already trying again to break up the two cat-fighting X5s. Finally, a few minutes later, he got a break when 121 hit 786 hard enough to send 786 stumbling back a few feet. He quickly got in and wrapped his arms around 121's waist and held her back. 494 did the same for 786.

"That's enough," 494 said firmly. "I hope that the two of you have gotten out whatever issues you might have had." _Like they're really done, but hey! A guy's gotta dream._ He looked around and noted with some surprise that none of the guards had made any sort of moves to break up the fight, though at least two of the guards in the area were giving 121 dirty looks. He mentally shrugged and let go of 786 and looked her right in the eye. "I'm in a good mood so I'm not going to send you to the brig for this, but I want you to completely ignore 121 for the rest of the day. Ignoring her for tomorrow would be nice, too. One peep out of either of you and you guys will be spending quality time in the brig. Are we clear on this?"

"Yes, sir," 121 said. She sounded apologetic.

786, predictably, was far from apologetic. "Yes, sir," she hissed. She turned around in a huff and stared angrily at the unit of X6s who had been behind Unit 3. Most of them looked nervous and had averted their eyes. 786 walked right up to the blond girl who was third in the line of younger soldiers. "What the fuck are you looking at, you little moron?"

The girl just stared at her coolly. "The same thing that everybody else was," she replied, her tone of voice matching the look in her eyes. 786 narrowed her eyes and tried to slap the X6, but the girl blocked it and held 786's hand for a moment before letting go and following the first two X6s in the line away from the courtyard.

"786, don't pick on the X6s," 511 warned. "Come on, people, let's fall in line and get our butts to the indoor firing range. We still might have a chance to be on time for our time over there if we hurry up."

"We probably won't," 295 whined as they fell back in line and continued on their way.

"Don't worry about it, 295," 494 assured him. He grinned, though nobody else could see it. "If we aren't on time, I'll take care of it."

"Gonna use the 494 charm, huh?" 121 teased.

"Of course," 494 said. They managed to get to the firing range without any other incidents and they were even still on time. 494 held his hand out and stopped 121 as the rest of the unit filed into the range. He looked at her, clearly concerned. "Why did you lose it like that with 786 in the courtyard?"

121 sighed. "I shouldn't have retaliated like that. I mean, you were there. I was going to let it go when you told me to, but then the bitch had to go and hit me and I just couldn't take it." She looked down for a moment. "That isn't an excuse for how I behaved, though. I still should have let it slide." She blew her breath out angrily. "Still, she gets me so damn mad sometimes that I just want to wring her neck."

"You're preaching to the choir, 121," 494 said. "Look, try not to do that again, okay? The next time that 786 tries to provoke you, try to ignore it and don't dignify her with a response."

"Okay," 121 agreed. She smirked. "Dad."

494 laughed. "Yeah, I was getting a little preachy, wasn't I?"

"I never knew you had that in you," 121 agreed. She also laughed a little.

"I've got lots of different side to me," 494 said. He smiled. "Come on. Let's show them how to shoot guns."

"I hear that," 121 said. They went inside the range and joined their teammates.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, calistra, and Angel of Darkness231 for their reviews and support!


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

494 smiled to himself as he entered the indoor firing range the following night. _I can't believe that 786 actually listened to my order from yesterday and had actually not said anything to 121 today. I know that this peace is going to be long gone tomorrow, but I'm definitely enjoying it while it lasts._ He walked over to where the weapons and ammunition were kept and selected several handguns and cartridges of ammo and walked over to the range. He was reaching for the protective ear wear when he looked to his left and was pleasantly surprised to see 121 enter. "Hey. You didn't tell me that you'd be spending your free time here tonight, too."

"What can I say? I like to have a surprise up my sleeve every now and then," 121 replied. She also selected her weapons and ammunition and walked over next to 494 and smirked when she saw the look on his face. "What, you're surprised that 511 isn't here with me?"

"You read my mind, 121," 494 said with a grin. "But hey, this would have made quite a romantic activity, huh? You know what they say about sex and violence…"

121 laughed as she reached over and smacked 494 across the back of his head. "You're still a stupid pervert sometimes, 494. 511 wanted to just kick back and read some of that crap that he picked up the last mission that he went out on." She put on the protective ear wear and picked up the Glock, loaded it, aimed, and fired.

"Ah," 494 said. He put on his own ear wear, picked up a semi-automatic, loaded it, aimed, and fired the weapon. When he'd put it back down, and 121 brought their targets forward and they compared them. "Nice job. I think you might have gotten me on this round."

"Never fuck around with a Glock," 121 said. She grinned and selected another one of the guns that she had taken. "I'm going to go with the Barretta for this one. What about you?"

"I'll go with the Glock that I selected," 494 said. They replaced their targets with fresh ones and sent them back. "On three, you ready? One…two…three!" The two of them let loose with their pistols and then brought their targets forward and examined them. "I think I got you this time."

121 nodded. "Yeah, I think that you're right." She shrugged and smiled. "Want one more?"

"Maybe," 494 said. "We should have at least one tie-breaking round." He stretched. "We've been playing this game with each other since they first taught us how to shoot guns when we were little kids."

"It doesn't seem to be growing old," 121 said.

494 nodded and looked between the other two weapons that he'd taken earlier. "Colt or Uzi…Colt or Uzi…what should I use?" He held the pistol in one hand and the automatic in the other. "What do you think, 121? Which one should I go with? Precision or ass-kicking fun?"

"Go with the Colt," 121 said. She picked up an identical handgun. "I took one, myself. Let's use the same weapon this time around." Once again, they replaced their targets and once the targets had been returned, they aimed, fired, and then brought the targets back to them. "I think we might have to call it a tie. It looks like we came out dead even on this one."

"Yeah," 494 agreed. He placed the weapon down and he and 121 took off their protective ear wear. "About the fight that you had with 786 yesterday…" He saw 121 cringe and then he smiled wickedly. "Ignoring the fact that I'm your commanding officer, damn, that was a good fight! I've seen a few unsanctioned fights go down between X-series soldiers before and the one between you and 786 definitely ranks right up there."

"We certainly went after each other with gusto," 121 said dryly. "I'm still really surprised that none of the guards that were watching ratted us out and got myself and 786 into trouble." She shrugged. "Then again, 786 essentially bought them out, you know?"

"I know what you mean," 494 said. "A few of them were giving you some bad looks when 511 and I finally broke the two of you up, especially that one guard. What the fuck was his name…oh yeah, Corporal Nathan Peck." He hesitated briefly as he recalled the rumors he'd heard about that guard. _If I tell 121 the buzz that's around about that guy, it'll probably send her mood down faster than an X8 on the obstacle course!_

121 smiled tightly. "I've heard the 411 on Corporal Peck, 494. I know that he had spotted 120 down in Texas almost seven years ago but that by the time he'd fully recognized who and what she was, she had evac-ed out of her foster parent's home. He's been giving me dirty looks and made the occasional nasty comment to me since, though he's never gone beyond that." She managed something of a smirk. "I did hear that he'd just been promoted to Sergeant when he'd gone on leave and had traveled to the Dallas area and when he'd gotten back here to Seattle they'd retracted the promotion and told him that it was because of an error in the paperwork, though it was obviously because of his delay in recognizing and reporting in 120." She shrugged. "It's the only thing that I can come close to thanking 120 for. I never liked Corporal Peck before then anyway."

"I know," 494 said. He took a good look at his friend and saw that sure enough, 121 appeared to be far less upbeat than she had been just a few minutes ago. "Are you okay, 121?"

"I will be eventually," 121 said. She disposed of the spent cartridges and put back the weapons and unused ammunition before stopping by 494. "I think that 511's got a pretty good idea. I'm going to go back to my cell and do some reading before lights out. I'll see you later, 494."

"See you later," 494 echoed. He sighed and turned back around and just stared. _What am I going to do about her? Every time somebody mentions something about 120 or even 493 or one of the other '09ers, she gets almost depressed like that or just flat out angry. When is she going to just let it go? It's going to be ten years in March. It happened and I would be a complete liar if I didn't say that getting at least one good punch in on 493 wouldn't feel good if the two of us ever met, but it's been so long. I don't tense up anymore when somebody mentions those guys._ He suddenly turned back around and saw a boy in his mid teens looking at him with concern and he managed a smile. "Don't worry, kid, I'm fine." He shrugged to himself. _What do you do in potentially semi-awkward situations? Bring on the introductions._ He held out his hand. "X5-494."

"X6-941," the teenager replied. He took 494's hand and shook it. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Thanks," 494 said, giving the kid a once-over. 941 really did seem to be in genuine awe of him, not in the ass-kissing kind of way that he'd seen and heard some of the other male X6s when he'd bumped into them or when he'd had to teach one of their lessons. "Do you have a lesson here or free time?"

"Free time," 941 said. He went and selected some weapons and ammunition and returned over to 494. He glanced over at the doorway. "Um…was something going on with 121? I saw the two of you talking through the entrance as I was approaching and then she left."

494 noticed the nervous stance of the other transgenic. "She intimidates the hell out of you, doesn't she, kid?"

"Yeah," 941 admitted. "And I did have a prime view of what happened yesterday."

"Right," 494 said. He remembered seeing 941 at the head of the line of X6s that had been following them yesterday when the fight had occurred. "Don't worry about 121. She'll be fine eventually. Trust me on this, I've known her pretty much our whole lives." He looked over and watched as 941 placed his guns and ammo on the shelf in front of him and then stealthily took out a nine-millimeter out of one of his pants pockets. 494 raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed. You sneaked yourself a piece when you were out at some point?"

941 shook his head. "No, but I'm considering doing that the next time that I get sent on a mission. This is a friend of mine's. She did sneak it back with her from a mission and she's letting me borrow it while she's still out there." He saw 494's glance and he shrugged. "Her mission is nearby so she checks back in here on weekends."

"I see," 494 said. He took a closer look at the gun. "What a sweet weapon. That is definitely top-of-the-line quality."

"I know," 941 said. "Let's give it a test run, shall we?" He and 494 both but on the protective ear wear and 941 let off a round at a target. When he was done, he put the gun down and took off his ear wear and grinned. "Not bad. I'm going to have to ask 405 to steal me one of these."

"Let me take a look," 494 said. 941 handed him the gun and he held it, occasionally twisting his wrist to look at it from other angles. "Not bad. It's got a good feel to it." He handed the weapon back to 941 and then turned to look at the target as 941 brought it forward. "Your accuracy isn't bad at all with that thing. You need to adjust, though. See how your shots are going ever so slightly to the right?" He pointed to the target.

"I see it," 941 said. He grinned. "Thank you, 494."

"Not a problem, kid," 494 replied. "I should be checking to make sure that 121 is okay. If you need my help with anything, just let me know."

941's eyes widened. "I will. Thank you."

"You're welcome," 494 said. He nodded towards 941 and then he left the range and headed back towards his cell.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Eleven months later…

"I think this is going to be an interesting day," 511 said to 494 and 121 as the three of them waited in the hallway for the rest of their unit to get ready for the day before going outside for lineup and roll call. "Any day when we have a training mission that takes up our entire afternoon and most of our night can make for good entertainment."

"I wonder if we're going to split into teams for this one or if our whole unit is going to be working together," 121 said. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

494 shrugged. "It beats the hell out of me. We'll find out when we report for our briefing after lunch." They watched as the rest of their unit were finally all out of their cells and 494 was about to motion for them to line up but stopped suddenly when he spotted three figures approaching them. He whistled just low enough for only 511 and 121 to hear him. "Look who's back."

121 turned to look and managed to hide her surprise. "Wow. I was starting to wonder if they were ever going to let her out of Psy Ops." A few moments later, 908 and the two guards that were escorting her stopped in front of the rest of Unit 3, who immediately stood at attention and saluted the guards.

One of the guards returned the salute and then turned to 494. "X5-908 has officially been cleared for active duty. Also, Director Renfro wants to see you and X5-511 in her office immediately. You have been excused from lineup and roll call this morning."

"Yes, sir," 494 said. He and 511 followed the guards.

121 turned to the rest of her teammates. "Okay, people, fall in line." She watched them fall into a line behind her and then led them all out to the correct yard for lineup. They made it there and fell into their usual place. Only one other unit besides themselves had arrived at that point, so 121 turned to look down the line to where 908 was standing. She looked to be in decent shape physically, other than a little paler than usual. 908 noticed 121, as well as most of the other present members of the unit, looking at her and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, give it a break," she grumbled. "I'm fine. Now would most of you please stop staring at me like I'm a freaking '09er?" She looked specifically at 121 and smiled sweetly. "Or like I'm the twin of one."

121 fought the urge to flip 908 off. _Oh goody, the bitch is definitely back. Should I be happy that spending twenty-six months in Psy Ops didn't change her basic personality or should I be pissed?_ She frowned. _Hmmm, that might actually be a good question. Should I be happy that I at least have the devil that I know as opposed to an even more psychotic bitch?_

They stood there patiently during lineup and roll call before finally going to breakfast. All during breakfast, most of the unit kept on staring at 908, who either ignored them or paused in her conversation with 786 and 714 to give them dirty looks. When the warning bell rang, they put their trays away and most of them headed to the library to go over their various assignments and class work while 908 went to the gym to work out and get back into top shape with 786 and 714 in tow to help her. 494, 511, and 121 found a small table away from the others and sat down with notepads and pens in front of them.

"So, what's the good word?" 121 asked as she picked up her pen and started to doodle. "What did Director Renfro want with the two of you?"

"I hate to break it to you, but you're going to be on your own in a few days for two weeks," 494 said cheerfully. He grinned when 121 flipped him off. "Seriously, we're being sent to Alaska to take out a naval base south of Anchorage."

"Take out a naval base?" 121 repeated.

"Yeah. Translation: blow it the fuck up," 511 said, laughing.

"No shit, Sherlock," 121 said. She frowned. "Isn't that the kind of large-scale op that's reserved for half units at the very least? I know how good the two of you are, but even so…two X5s going to take out an entire naval base?"

494 shrugged. "It's a smaller base. Besides, it's not going to be just myself and 511 going. X6-941 will be going with us on the mission. The kid's good."

"Yeah, I heard that he was chosen as 2IC for the X6 squad," 121 recalled.

"Uh-huh. He lost that one to 224 on a tie-breaker," 511 confirmed.

"Tie-breaker?"

"224 is about a month older than 941," 511 clarified.

"Oh," 121 said. "Even with 941 joining you on the mission and even if the base is on the small side, it still doesn't sound like the kind of job that can be pulled off with three X-series trangenics. I really don't know."

494 sighed. "We were thinking the same things, to be honest. The theory that 511, 941, and I can think of is that Renfro wants to show off." He grinned. "What better way of showing off than sending the best X5s and one of the best X6s to make a naval base go bye-bye?"

"If bases could be destroyed by ego, then this should be an easy mission for you," 121 said, laughing.

"No talking in the library," 295 grumbled from where he was sitting at a desk reading a textbook.

121 rolled her eyes and she turned around to face the other X5. "No being an uptight little shit anywhere." She smirked when she saw 295's face turn red in anger and turned back to her boyfriend and her best friend. "Sir, permission to mutilate 295 in his sleep tonight?"

"Granted, but clean up the mess yourself before you go back to sleep," 494 deadpanned.

"Will do, sir," 121 said. The three of them laughed. "Seriously, I want to give him a good slap upside the head all of the time."

"It could be worse," 511 said. "Remember when the three of us went on that mission down in Mexico a few months ago and 786 had been left in command of the unit for the two months that we were gone? You recall how bad they all were when we got back?"

"It made me glad that 908 was still in Psy Ops at that point," 121 said. She sighed. "Sometimes, I just don't get it. I wish that I knew why they all at least intensely dislike us so much."

"Is this the same hard-ass bitch designated X5-121 that was threatening to mutilate 295 only a minute or two ago?" 494 teased. "The one with a chip on her shoulder and a major attitude problem?"

"Major attitude problem?" 121 said, mildly surprised. "Who's been saying that?"

"That's the buzz going around about you among the X6s," 494 said. "Like I said before, you're pretty intimidating to the younger soldiers."

"Get that from 941?" 121 guessed.

"Yeah," 494 said. "He's a nice kid, but you scare him witless, even though he can physically take you on."

121 laughed. "I scare a top-rated X6? Sweet."

"You want to jab me with a pen? I'll fucking stab your eye out with it and show it to you before I completely fucking blind you!"

"Time for 237's first temper tantrum of the day," 511 said. "Who wants to deal with it?"

"Since the two of you are leaving soon, you can deal with him," 121 said. She smiled innocently.

"You are evil," 494 said.

"Proud of it," 121 said. "And isn't that also why you love me?"

"No doubt," 494 said. He and 511 got up and walked over to calm down 237.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, and calistra for their reviews and support! Angel of Darkness231, yeah, this 941 is a sweetheart. Unlike here, he plays a big part in the major fics that follow this one in this AU, though we definitely haven't seen the last of him here. Thank you all so much again!


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

494, 511, and 941 sat quietly in a van several days later as it drove through Seattle. It stopped just outside of the city and the three of them shouldered the backpacks that they had with them and 494 stepped to the curb and waved his hand when he spotted a taxi approaching. It slowed and pulled up to the curb and the driver got out and help put the suitcases the boys had on them into the trunk before they all got inside and he pulled away from the curb.

"Airport, please," 494 said.

"Yeah, sure," the cab driver said. He pulled away from the curb and headed towards the airport, getting the three guys there fairly quickly. He dropped them off at the correct terminal and 494, 511, and 941 went inside and up to the right counter. They checked in and got their boarding passes and then made their way to their gate and sat down.

"Have you ever taken a commercial flight before while on a mission, 941?" 511 asked.

"Yeah, twice before," 941 replied. "Once was to Spain and the other time was to Ottawa. I didn't mind it either time."

"Okay, boys, it's time to get our I.D.s," 494 said, grinning. He opened his backpack and took out a manila envelope and removed three wallets from it. He handed one each to 511 and 941 and kept one for himself before he put the envelope back in the backpack and closed that up. He opened the wallet and looked at the driver's license that was inside. "It looks like I'm gonna be Nicholas Wright for the next two weeks. What did you guys get?"

511 opened up his wallet. "Daniel Grey." He shrugged. "I can live with that. What about you?"

"Let me see," 941 said. He opened up his own wallet. "Jeffrey McGrath." He smiled. "I like it." His smile became wider. "Hey, they even made me eighteen on here! I'm not even seventeen yet. Nice."

"You can pass for eighteen…enough," 494 teased. "Seriously, kid, let's go over our intel while we've got a minute."

"Coming right up," 941 said. He opened his backpack and took out a three-ring binder, the kind any normal student would have. He passed the binder over to 511, who was sitting in the middle, and then he and 494 leaned over so that they could get a better look at the binder's contents. They went over the information for awhile and only paused when 941's stomach made noise, which made 941 look slightly embarrassed. "Well, we did kind of miss breakfast."

"And a growing boy like you needs his nourishment," 511 teased. "We've still got plenty of time before we have to board the plane and there's a fast food place over there. I'll be right back." He got up and walked away and returned a few minutes later carrying a paper bag in one hand and a cardboard holder containing three cups of coffee. "Enjoy, guys."

"Thank you," 941 said. He took one of the cups of coffee from the holder and waited for a moment while 511 sat back down before taking one of the breakfast sandwiches from the bag. He unwrapped it and took a big bite. "Damn, this is good. I'll take this over flavorless oatmeal, flavorless random sludge, or the cardboard cold cereal that we have for breakfast back home any day of the week."

"Especially since it won't do a damn thing to our physiques," 494 said. "Hey, I'm single and the ladies love a man with a six-pack."

"Yeah, 121 sure does love…" 511 trailed off when he saw the curious look on 941's face. "121 and I are dating. Well, we're dating as much as two people can date back home."

"Oh," 941 said. He smiled, though it seemed a little tense. "That's cool." He saw the looks that 494 and 511 were giving him. "Seriously, it is really nice that you found somebody."

"I know what you mean," 494 said understandingly. "I told you the kid's intimidated by 121, didn't I?"

511 slapped his forehead. "Right, Nicholas, I forgot."

"Just call me Nick for the next two weeks. Nicholas is a little bit too long," 494 said. He drank some of his coffee then almost spit it out and made a face as he swallowed it. "Note to self: remember to wait until the crap actually cools down enough for you not to burn your tongue."

"Sad, isn't it, little buddy?" 511 said to 941, winking. "An IQ above genius level and he still can't remember not to let his coffee cool down before he drinks it."

"Yeah, it's amazing," 941 remarked. "Um…could you please not call me little buddy? I don't like it."

"No problem…little buddy." 511 added the last two words under his breath, but he was still smiling. 941 mock glared at him, though he knew that 511 was only teasing him. "Sorry, Jeffrey."

"It's okay," 941 said. "You can call me Jeff for the next few weeks."

"Okay," 511 said. "So, Jeff…tell us about yourself? We know your stats and that kind of shit from the briefings we got yesterday, but what about everything else?"

941 laughed. "Sure. On the chances that I get to eat real food when I'm out on a mission, I like pretty much any Oriental kind of cooking and I also like pizza and burgers and stuff like that. I haven't gotten the chance to ride a motorcycle outside of when I was taught how to ride one in mechanics and I can't wait for my first real opportunity. I think 224 is an arrogant prick and I wouldn't mind beating the crap out of him which I usually do when they have the two of us spar against each other."

494 looked amused at the look. "Somebody's competitive, huh?"

"He pisses me off," 941 said. "He's good, but he could not rub it in everybody's faces. I'm just happy that he's got his own unit and I've got mine and that we don't have to deal with each other all that much."

"Speaking of units, what about yours?" 494 said. "From what I've observed, you guys seem to get along really well. You're definitely closer to each other than mine and Daniel's unit." He shrugged. "Not that it's a hard feat to pull off, but…"

941 laughed again. "I know. 252 is pretty feisty sometimes. She's very nice and she's got a good head on her shoulders, but I sometimes have a hard time getting her to cool her temper down when somebody pisses her off. She's top-rated, like I am. Then there's 312. He's a great guy and he's funny, but he also like to take advantage of the fact that he only sleeps every other night and pulls the occasional prank on me or somebody else in our unit."

"Does he have shark DNA?" 511 asked.

"No. I'm not sure what extra DNA he's got in him, but it's not shark," 941 said. He continued on. "…and 646 is the youngest among us. She's a sweetheart and she's also our explosives specialist."

"What about that blond girl?" 494 asked. "The one that I saw with your unit on the day last year when 121 and 786 had that fight, the one that stared down 786 and blocked the attempted slap?"

"Oh yeah, 405," 941 said. He grinned. "She's actually the C.O. of her own unit back in Wyoming and she was attached to our unit when she'd been assigned to go on a mission with 252 last year. I think they had to infiltrate a military school east of here. She was the one who let me use the gun that she'd swiped from there. She's got no fear at all. I don't mean that she's the type to go out and do something like going bungee jumping off of the top of the Space Needle for the heck of it, it's just that nothing scares her."

"Do you have a crush on her or something?" 511 teased.

"No," 941 said immediately.

"Jeff, you're blushing," 494 said. "Considering that Daniel and I know how to read body language even better than you do…"

"I…I guess I do," 941 said. He shrugged. "She's beautiful. She's smart. We have a lot in common. She's got a great sense of humor when she does smile, which isn't that often. Then again, she is from Wyoming and you guys have seen Colonel Lydecker when he's visited here. Would you want to smile a lot if you see him day in and day out?"

"Not really," 511 said. "That guy is a hard ass and then some." He thought for a few minutes. "I'd still rather serve under him than under Director Renfro. If I had a choice of whether I wanted my commander to be a hard ass or a probable psychotic bitch, I'd take hard ass any day of the week." He turned back to 941. "Why didn't you tell her how you felt?"

"I didn't know exactly how I felt back then," 941 said. "Even if I did, I don't know if 405 felt the same way about me. I mean, we got to be really good friends when she was attached to my unit and when she came back to our home to check in and train on weekends, but it never occurred to me to ask. Even if I did, 405 is also one of the most stubborn people I've ever met. If she won't admit to something, she won't admit it."

"I bet she scored high during resistance training," 494 remarked.

"Oh, she did," 941 said with a laugh. He looked down. "Unfortunately, it still doesn't matter. She went back to Wyoming once her and 252's mission was completed. The odds aren't that good that I'll even see her again, much less get a chance to tell her how I feel."

"Hey, don't sweat it, Jeff," 511 said. He put a friendly arm around 941's shoulders. "If it's meant to happen, then it's going to happen and you will be seeing 405 again one of these days and then when the time is right, you will tell her how you feel. It might be when we get back, it might be two months from now, it might be years from now, but it'll happen when it happens if it's meant to be. Just don't lose hope."

"I won't," 941 said. "I'll never lose hope. 405 is worth it."

494 looked at 941 and smiled. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, kid."

"Thanks, Nick," 941 said.

"Okay, wait a second here," 511 said. "You get to call him kid, and yet I can't call him little buddy? Where's the justice in that?"

"Hey, you can call me kid if you want to," 941 said, smiling impishly.

494 and 511 both laughed. "I think we're going to get along just fine," 494 said. "If we had a club…welcome to it, Jeff."

"It's good to be a part of it," 941 said.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, and calistra for their reviews and support! Angel of Darkness231, to answer your question, I'll be writing the next few chapters similarly to how I did it earlier when 121 went on her mission with 849 and 228. Hang on tight, because in a few chapters things are going to really pick up some speed! Thank you all so much again!


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

"As you are already aware of, you little pieces of shit, you will be defending in Escape and Evade against Unit 6 shortly," a trainer screamed at the remaining sixteen members of Unit 3 a few days later as they were lined up in their forest camouflage outside. He handed a map and a marker to 121 before he stepped back again. "Discuss and map out your positioning and hand it in to me, at which time you will be sent out to your placements. Unit 6 has already been positioned and the exercise will begin when all of you are ready." He walked a short distance away and began to talk with another trainer.

121 stepped out in front of the rest of the unit and spread out the map, which covered the area that the exercise was supposed to take place within. "Okay, people, let's get ourselves set up here. We should keep in mind that Unit 6 is one light because of a mission, so strength-wise, that makes us dead even." She uncapped the marker and made a note on the map as her teammates crowded around so that they could get a better look. "I'm going to be setting myself up in a sniper position here in the center portion of the designated area. 786, I want you to position yourself here by the boulders in the western section. Got it?"

786 nodded, for once all business. "Affirmative, ma'am."

"237, I want you to take up position just south of me here," 121 said. She pointed to a place on the map. "You're armed with the smoke grenades as well as your paintball gun, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," 237 said.

"Excellent," 121 said. She made another few notes on the map and continued on. "...good, 665. 908, I want you to position yourself over here in the eastern section close by 714. Keep some distance from her, but remain close enough in case she runs into trouble."

908 frowned and gave 121 an annoyed look. "714 is quite capable of being left by herself. She is a big girl. I don't see why I have to stay close to her."

121 bit her lip to keep from immediately snapping something back at 908. "While I agree with you that 714 is a very competent soldier, the fact remains that this is an area in which she is still a little bit weak and that it's also a place where you excel. The two of you also happen to make an effective team when paired up so I want you close by 714 as a precaution should she need help. This is nothing that 494 or 511 hasn't asked you to do before, remember?" _Though she did make some kind of dumb remark those times, too._

"I know, but neither 494 nor 511 are here. Do you see them anywhere in the vicinity?" 908 sneered.

_Oh, for crying out loud._ "Look, 908. Don't question my orders. I know that you hate my ass and all, but the fact remains that a: I am a superior officer and b: with 494 and 511 away on that mission, I am currently your commanding officer as well. You only got out of a very long Psy Ops stay not even a week ago and I'm reasonably sure that you don't want to be sent to any kind of punishment this quickly." She tapped the minicam that was attached to the headband that she was wearing, just like the other members of Unit 3. "We're also being watched for this round of E&E, remember? I wouldn't be surprised if the trainers tune in even before we move out. They have before."

908 narrowed her eyes, but nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Understood."

"Thank you, 908," 121 said. She made the final notation on the map.

"I never said that you were correct, but what the hell. At least I'll have the comfort of knowing when we bomb this run that it'll be your fault," 908 said quietly enough for the microphones that were attached to the minicams not to pick it up, but still loud enough for the unit to hear her.

121 didn't bother to look up from folding the map back up when she replied, her voice equally as soft. "And if you purposefully bomb this on purpose for just yourself, or anybody else, then forget about the brig, Psy Ops, or any of that because you're going to be answering to me. Understood, soldier?" She managed to keep the triumphant look off of her face when she saw the anger is 908's eyes. She marched back to the trainer and handed him the map. "Here you go, sir."

"Thank you, 121," the trainer said. He opened the map up and looked it over. "Very well." He put a hand to the earpiece that he was wearing and nodded in response to whatever had been said by the person speaking on the other end before he directed his attention back to the X5s. "Okay, Unit 3, move out."

They all saluted the trainer and spread out when they got to the edge of the woods. 121 moved ahead quickly until she reached the spot that she had assigned to herself. She saw a tree that looked good and quickly made sure that her paintball rifle was strapped securely to her back before she climbed the tree and settled herself up in it. She swung the rifle around and got a good grip on it and began to scan the forest.

_Nobody here yet,_ she thought. _Then again, the exercise has barely started and Unit 6 would have been placed yards north of here, not to mention that it's going to be a few minutes at the very least before any of them can get free from their starting predicaments. I should have some time before any of them come within range of me._ 121 looked around for any sign of her own unit mates, but they had all settled into their own positions as well as she had. _I'm glad that they're focusing on the task at hand._

She sighed as she shifted in the tree the slightest bit. _I still don't get 908. I don't know why I even bother worrying about the bitch sometimes. You'd think twenty-six months in Psy Ops would have completely straightened her head out or at least knocked one or two things back to where they'd be on a normal person, but nope. 908 is still the same nasty, angry, spiteful bitch that she's been for at least most of the twenty-four years that she's been on this stupid planet. Some screws might have at least temporarily been tightened back in place, but…I wouldn't even wish her on the '09ers._

121 heard some faint noises in the distance and looked up and zoomed in, but she couldn't quite see anybody. _Whatever's the matter with the bitch, now's not the time to think about it. It's game time._

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, calistra, and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support!


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda" and "Designate This."

About three weeks later…

121 grinned when she saw that 849 and 228 had beaten her up to the roof. "Hey. You must have hauled some ass."

"Nah, we just used a different roof access," 849 teased as she pointed to a different door than the one that 121 had just used. "Where are 511 and 494?"

"We would be right here," 511 said. "Great to see you ladies again."

"Likewise," 228 said. They all sat down and 228 frowned a little when she saw the look that was on 494's face. "Are you okay, 494?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little bit annoyed," 494 said. "I got called into Director Renfro's office right before lights out. I'm being sent out again in two days on a deep cover solo."

"You know, that is what happens when you do as well as you did in Alaska with 511 and 941," 121 joked. "Three X-series take out an entire naval base, they return home all covered in glory, and they get sent right back out again."

"I'm not being re-deployed," 511 said cheerfully. He laughed when 494 flipped him off. "Nothing I haven't seen or heard before, buddy."

494 rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that. It could be worse, though." He stretched his arms. "I ran into 941 on my way to Renfro's office. They're going to be shipping him out on his first solo mission in a few days. The kid's going all the way to Bulgaria."

"Wow, that's pretty far away," 849 said. "Good for him. He beat 224 as to the first X6 to be assigned to a solo mission."

"He was happy about that," 494 said, grinning. "I'm happy for the kid regardless of the fact that he got assigned a solo before 224. I saw first hand how capable he is. He earned this opportunity."

"Speaking of opportunities, what about yours?" 849 asked. She grinned. "Give us the details, 494?"

"You do know that's all classified information, 849," 494 teased. "But what the hell. I'm not going nearly as far away as 941 is. In fact, I'm still going to be in the Seattle area. Some businessman named Robert Berrisford. He's supplies Manticore with money and equipment though his company and apparently, he's been getting a little antsy so they want somebody to keep an eye on him for awhile and look for more concrete evidence of him jumping ship."

"Were you given a timetable for this mission?" 121 asked.

494 shook his head. "No. There's no set timetable. It could only last a week or it could last a year. If I had to guess, I'd say it will end up going long term."

"How are you getting in?" 228 asked.

"My cover? The guy's got an eighteen-year-old daughter named Rachel," 494 said. "She's a freshman communications major at the University of Washington-Seattle and she lives at home with her father. The girl's takes piano lessons but she's between teachers right now. Her newest tutor is scheduled to begin with her in four days. I take care of him and assume his identity and bingo."

"He's supposed to begin lessons with her in only four days? When the hell are you moving out?" 511 asked.

"Day after tomorrow," 494 said.

"Whoa," 849 said. "This must be a pretty high priority mission if this was all the notice that you're getting." She smiled teasingly. "You're going to have to learn to play the piano in less than a day tomorrow? Ha, ha! Good luck with that one, 494."

"I took a few basic lessons for some of my supplemental mission skills classes," 494 said. "All I've got to do tomorrow when I'm in mission prep is to brush up on my stuff, learn a few fancy moves, and I'm home free. Sorry to disappoint you."

"It's going to take me awhile to get over this," 849 deadpanned.

"Well, I think that I can speak for all of us when I wish you good luck out there," 511 said. He leaned over and gave 494 a quick hug. "Kick some ass out there."

"I always do," 494 said. "Thanks, 511."

"It's going to be dull without you for however long that you'll be away," 121 said. "It'll be just me and 511…" She purposefully trailed off and grinned seductively at her boyfriend. "You know, that actually sounds so good. Just you and me."

"No random acts of sex, please," 494 said. "I prefer watching porno on video, not live."

"I knew it!" 121 triumphantly. "You had an unmarked CD in a jewel case that was lying on the desk in your cell the other day when 511 and I went in there to talk over strategies for the training mission that we had yesterday and when I asked you what it was, you ducked the question. I knew it was porn!"

"It wasn't porn," 494 insisted. "I don't even have a laptop to watch it on, which I would have sneaked in from a mission a long time ago if that were the case. The only contraband of my own that I have is the pistols that I snatched when I was on the mission with 511 and 941, a Swiss Army knife that I got when we actually went to Switzerland on that mission when we were fifteen, some crap that I've brought back from missions that I'm selling off to the guards, and the money that the guards give me for that shit. It's amazing what ordinaries will pay for stuff that I find outside and here within these fine walls."

"If the CD wasn't porn, what was it?" 511 asked.

"It was something I took from 714," 494 said. He shrugged. "I overheard her talking to 908 and she handed her the CD. I don't know exactly what was on it, but 714 and 908 were being pretty rude when they saw me so I just took it from them. I'll give it back before I go. I just wanted to piss them off."

121 laughed. "Our boy here loves to play with fire."

"Hey, they can't do shit about it," 494 said. "Being the C.O. of their unit and of the entire squad has its advantages."

"Our boy apparently also has an ego problem," 849 said teasingly. "I wouldn't be surprised if he has the delusion that he rules the entire world."

"Nah, I don't rule the world," 494 said. "I'm pretty damn good, but rule the world? Not quite yet."

121 grinned. _How like 494 is that statement? He's said stuff like that so many damn times. Last week when he got back from his mission, last month…_ She froze as a memory suddenly came to her. _…and about thirty-eight hours before Wyoming's Unit 2 made their infamous escape. He said damn near those same words. Not even two days later, our world went even deeper into hell and he's going on a mission in about two days…_

"121? Are you okay?" 511 said.

"Yeah, I'm fine," 121 said. _Other than the fact that I suddenly got even more paranoid than 107 for a few moments._ "I'm honestly fine."

"Are you sure?" 494 said. "You got this weird look on your face for a minute."

"I'm fine," 121 insisted. "It was just a brain fart or something. Trust me, okay?"

"All right," 494 said, though he sounded slightly suspicious. 121 smiled in response and turned to 228 and started another conversation and tried to forget about the feeling that she'd had a few moments before. _It's just a weird coincidence._

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 and to CrimsonReality for their reviews and support! I'm sorry that I didn't go into detail about the guys' mission, but I didn't think that it would impact the plot very much and I wanted to set the fic up for the next juicy parts, and there'll be plenty of them! Thank you so much again!


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda."

511 was smiling as he led a half unit of little X9s out of the woods and back to one of the yards a month later. "That was really good, all of you. You're really showing some serious promise. One of these days, you're all going to make great soldiers." Seven little faces beamed in response. "Any questions before I dismiss you?"

"Sir, no, sir!" the children replied.

"Then you're dismissed," 511 said. He grinned as the two, three, and four year olds saluted him and marched back off towards the building. He headed that way himself. _That was something else. Those little ones really are full of spunk. They're nice little boys and girls. It's going to be interesting when they grow up, that's for sure!_

"Hey, you!"

511 grinned when he saw 121 running up to him. "Hey there, sexy. How was it leading those X8s through the exercise in the South woods?"

"I've never met any group of people that were so full of questions before in my life," 121 said. "Those are some curious kids. How did it go with you leading those kids from X9 Unit 2 in the North woods?"

"They're sweet kids," 511 said. "They've got some life to them."

"And then they'll be growing into those little chatterboxes," 121 said dryly. "Maybe not. I'd heard somewhere that they used wolverine DNA as the main animal DNA in the X9s as opposed to cat. Maybe that'll calm them down."

"I don't know, I—" 511 stopped when a guard approached them. "Yes, sir?"

"Director Renfro needs to see you and X5-121 in her office immediately," the guard said. He motioned to them and after exchanging a confused and slightly nervous look, 511 and 121 followed him.

* * *

849 and 228 were sitting quietly in the library, just going over some information from a mission that they'd returned from when the door opened suddenly. They both looked up and saw 511 and 121 enter the library and grew concerned when they saw the looks on their faces. 511 and 121 spotted the other two X5s and made their way over to them. After they'd looked around and had seen and heard no other transgenics in the library, they led 849 and 228 over to a corner.

"What's going on?" 849 asked. "You look like someone's about to die."

"You might not be far off," 121 said. She took a deep breath to compose herself. "511 and I got called into Director Renfro's office just a few minutes ago. She had some…news that she wanted to give us concerning 494 and the deep cover solo that he'd went on last month."

"Something went wrong, didn't it?" 228 guessed.

"Something apparently went very wrong," 511 said. "Strap yourselves in, this is going to be a doozy." He sighed. "I don't want this to go beyond the four of us, at least not quite yet. The only reason that 121 and I were given access to this information at all is because we're acting commanding officer and acting second-in-command of our unit and the squad and so we need to keep tabs on all of our subordinates. I'm pretty sure some of this is going to get out and we all know that's inevitable, but all of these details can't leave this room."

Both 849 and 228 nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, sir, ma'am. We won't say a word," 849 promised.

"Good. Like 511 said, this is going to be one hell of a ride," 121 said. "You both remember what 494 told us about what his mission involved when we met up on the roof two days before he left, right? It sounded pretty basic and it seemed to be going that way for the past month."

"I can almost see the but," 228 said dryly.

"494 recently came across the proof of Berrisford's intentions," 511 said. "He reported it to Control, of course, and they ordered him to take out not only Berrisford, but his daughter as well."

849 frowned. "Tactically, that doesn't make much sense unless the daughter somehow had any kind of access to her father's files and somehow I would think, given the sensitive nature of that particular issue as well as his dealings with Manticore in general, that he would have his files both on a computer as well as password-protected so that the daughter wouldn't be able to gain access. Do you know if she did?"

"She didn't as far as we know," 121 said. "Apparently, 494 had come across nothing that would support that theory and he reported that to Control as well, but they didn't want to take a chance and they re-iterated their order to plant the bomb within a week's time. 494 apparently agreed, but they must have thought that he was being too twitchy because they had another X5 with them in the other room, I guess as a just-in-case policy, and they had him follow 494 back to his accommodations and this second X5 must have picked up on something because Manticore ordered the boy to plant the bomb on Berrisford's car early that morning before Berrisford and his daughter would be up for the day."

"Who was it?" 228 asked.

"513 from Unit 7," 511 said. He rolled his eyes. "He'll be bragging about it until the cows come home or at least until 786 sleeps with him." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, 513 planted the bomb hours before 494 was scheduled to arrive at Berrisford's home for the daughter's piano lesson. 494 arrives as scheduled but when he gets here, Berrisford tells him that he's taking his daughter out shopping and to wait for them until they return. 513 was on-site out of 494's vision, but when he'd armed the bomb, 494 heard it and he warned the Berrisfords to get out of the car and run."

849's eyes widened. "What?"

"He warned them," 121 repeated. "I don't know what his reasons were, but that's what he did. Berrisford himself actually managed to get far enough away from the vehicle to escape injury, but his daughter wasn't nearly as lucky. She sustained severe head trauma and is currently in a deep coma in intensive care at Harbor Lights Hospital in Seattle. As for 494…" She shook her head. "When he noticed that the daughter had been severely injured, possibly even killed and there wasn't a way for him to distinguish between the two at that point, he basically freaked out. Manticore had a team with 513 to back him up and when 494 started to scream out for the daughter, they moved in and took him back here and brought him straight to Psy Ops. He's going to be there for a long time."

"How long?" 228 asked.

"Six months max," 511 said. "That sounds a little bit excessive, don't you guys think? I know that this was the first mission that he's botched, but why such a long stay? When 714 botched that solo mission down in L.A. a few years ago, she only got three days in Psy Ops and a few weeks in solitary confinement. When 669 from your unit blew his solo mission down in Texas last year, he got two weeks in Psy Ops."

121 sighed. "As much as I hate to say this, I can almost understand the reasoning behind why 494 is getting an extended stay in Psy Ops for this disaster. This guy Berrisford was threatening to bring the roof down on us, thus making him a top-level threat and the mission of one of the highest priorities, which would mean that there would be a lot for 494 to potentially lose if he blew it, which he apparently did. I don't think that the missions that 714 and 669 failed to complete were of nearly the level that 494's mission was. What I really don't understand is why 494 threw the mission in the first place. This is completely out-of-character for him. He never throws missions at all. As much grief as 908 used to give him when she was still our C.O. and he was our 2IC, 494 was always ready and always prepared for training missions and in the real deal as well. He always came through."

"I'm wondering if the daughter had something to do with it," 849 said slowly. "You said that 494 lost it when he saw that she had been injured and maybe even killed. If he grew to care for her in some fashion, maybe even love her, that would almost certainly get that kind of reaction out of somebody."

"I can see your point, but I don't know if I can really see 494 falling for somebody like that," 511 said. "The guy is a huge flirt. He loves to charm women and all, but he doesn't fall in love. That's not him."

"No offense, 511, but you were like that once upon a time," 228 pointed out. "Remember? Then you fell in love with 121 and the rest is history."

"She does have a point," 121 said. "Whatever the exact reasoning is behind 494's actions, the fact of the matter is that the poor guy is going to be going through hell for the next few months. I wish to everything holy that he isn't, but he will be." She shivered. "It was horrible when we were thrown in there when we were kids back in '09 for that six month stretch and that was back before they had the Psy Ops soldiers on active duty there. Can you imagine what it's going to be like now with them picking apart your mind while those asshole ordinary trainers and guards physically torture you?" She closed her eyes.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" 511 asked quietly.

121 nodded and opened her eyes. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just some bad memories from way back when."

"What can we do?" 849 asked.

"I don't think there's anything that we really can do at this point about 494. He's stuck in Hell for the next six months," 511 said. "What we will need is your moral support. This is going to make for one hell of a shitstorm."

"If you want it, you've got it," 849 said. "No questions asked."

228 nodded in agreement. "Consider it done. We've got your backs."

"Thank you," 121 said. She and 511 stood up. "Wish us luck. We've got to walk right into that storm and tell the rest of our unit what happened."

"Good luck," 849 said.

"Thanks," 511 said. "Take care." He and 121 left the library. As soon as the door had closed behind them, 121 leaned against the hallway wall and put her head in her hands.

"This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening," she repeated. "Damnit, 511, why the fuck is this happening to 494?"

511 pulled 121 into his arms and held her tight. "I don't know. I'm just as worried as you are, baby. It's going to be okay, though. 494 is as tough as they come. If the two of you got through those six months in Psy Ops back in '09 when we were still kids, then he can get through this now. I don't care if they've got those telepathy and telecoercion specialist soldiers on active duty in Psy Ops now, 494 still can and will get through this with flying colors. You know it."

"I hope so," 121 said. She took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this."

"Just remember, keep your cool," 511 instructed. "If and when they make nasty comments about 494, don't lose your temper. Just pull rank on them when they get out of line and they'll shut up, even 908."

121 nodded. "I will." She took 511's hand and gave it a squeeze and the two of them walked off to find the rest of their unit.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, calistra, and yeoman for their reviews and support! Angel of Darkness231, Max will be showing up in this fic later on, though it'll probably be a few chapters at least before she does and even then it won't be that big of a part. Max plays a much bigger role in other fics of mine in this AU. Thank you all so much again!


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

511 sighed as he walked through the hallways several days later. _It's only been a few days since 121 and I found out about 494. I miss him._ He snorted in disgust. _The only thing that's close to good that I can say about this whole time is that 908 is actually happy, though that's only because of 494's apparent failure. Is it really a failure, though, or just something that Manticore interpreted as a failure? I guess we won't know the whole story until 494 decides to tell us, if he ever does._ He cracked his knuckles. _If that bitch makes one more remark about 494 screwing up, I'm going to beat the hell out of her so badly, even dental records won't help._ 511 couldn't help chuckling. _Yeah, right. If I do that, 121 will be pissed at me for not letting her have a turn before they have to take 908 to the infirmary._

He turned a corner and headed towards one of the exits. _Maybe I'll go to the outdoor rifle range and spend some of this free time of mine getting night-time target practice in. I'm pretty good with weapons, but I'm not nearly as good with rifles and long-distance shooting as 121 is. _He smiled proudly. _Not many of us are, though. That's my girl!_

511 walked through the doors and frowned when he saw a small group of X5s standing near the edge of the woods. Five of the six transgenics that he saw were members of his own unit, but the sixth was X5-513, the one who'd been sent to finish 494's mission. _If that piece of shit is bragging about what he did, then I'll make sure that he doesn't do a whole lot of talking for awhile at least._

"...and then he started screaming like a little girl," 513 said. He laughed. "He barely even noticed when the ordinary guards that came with me grabbed him and tranquilized his sorry ass before they threw him in the back of the van."

"Oh, I so knew it," 908 said with satisfaction. "I knew that '09er-twin ass of his would screw up one of these days. I have been waiting and waiting and I do believe that it just might have been worth it."

"I told you that it would," 786 said.

"And you were right," 908 agreed. "You've always had the best advice, 786."

"You lucky dog, you," 237 said. "You got to one-up the great X5-494, the soldier who couldn't do a damn thing wrong. I wish that I could have been the one to put one over his ass like that. Kudos, man, seriously." 511's eyes narrowed and he started to say something to grab the group's attention, but somebody beat him to it.

"That's not something to be congratulated about." 511 looked up in surprise as he saw 941 suddenly standing near the group.

513 snorted. "Nobody asked for your opinion, so get your stupid X6 ass out of here..."

"My designation is 941," 941 said.

"941, right," 513 said. He shrugged. "Whatever, nobody still asked you for your two cents so scram."

"He still has every right to give his opinion," 511 said. "It's called freedom of speech, 513. We've got it when the trainers and Director Renfro aren't around. Remember?"

786 rolled her eyes. "What's next, 121 is going to show up and call me a filthy whore for the ten millionth time?"

"No, she's in her cell right now catching up on some reading," 511 said. "That's a much better way to spend what free time that we do have than what you guys are doing. Oh, don't worry about it. She said that she'd call you a filthy whore again sometime in the next twenty-four hours."

"Butt out of this," 908 said. "This has nothing to do with either of you."

"It does," 941 said calmly. "Anybody with a shred of decency wouldn't stand by and let a friend of theirs get ripped on the way that you're talking about 494."

"Well, stand right on by because I'm going to say whatever I want," 908 said. She walked over to 941 and looked up into his eyes. "494 is a miserable little piece of filth. I don't think that he is worth the crap that sometimes gets between the grooves on the soles of my combat boots when I'm participating in exercises out in the woods over there. I believe that 494 is a worthless, talentless, dumb-as-crap, scum-sucking asshole that I would like nothing more than to give him exactly what he deserves, which I do believe is what he's getting in Psy Ops right about now." She smirked. "I've never blown a mission, especially one of the apparent magnitude of 494's. What do you think that he's getting right now? 786, 714, do either of you have any ideas?"

"It depends on who's working him over right now," 714 said thoughtfully. "Are they using a telepath, a telecoercion specialist, or is some random ordinary guard using something old fashioned, like breaking bones or clamping fingers or toes at pressure points? Whichever they're using, it sounds like fun to me."

"Absolutely," 786 said. "I couldn't agree more."

"I couldn't agree any less," 511 said. "You people disgust me."

"Blow it out your ass," 908 said. She saw 941 staring at her with a similar look and wrinkled her nose. "As for you, go away. It's not like you actually know 494, anyway."

"I know him better than you do, I bet," 941 pointed out. "Have you actually taken the time when you've had the chance to get to know the guy? He's not perfect, nobody's personalities are, but he is a good person."

"Get your ass out of here before I beat it," 908 hissed. She stared at 941, who wasn't moving an inch. "That's...an...order."

"No...it's...not," 511 mocked. "If you think that's an order, then I'm ordering 941 to do whatever the fuck he wants to do in this situation." He grinned and turned to 941. "Do you understand, soldier?"

"Sir, yes, sir," 941 said. He also grinned and he saluted 511.

"This is called having friends in high places," 511 said. "Try it sometime, 908." 908's eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she rushed towards 941, who had her face down on the ground in a heartbeat. 511 just shook his head. "Hate to break it to you, 908, but not only is 941 a top-rated X6, but hand-to-hand combat is one of his specialties. That's not going to work. And if I know how your mind works, neither will getting up and trying to attack me. I'll make you a deal. If you drop this and not make any kind of nasty comments like what I had just heard about 494 again, I will not report you for insubordination."

"How am I being insubordinate?" 908 snapped, though her words came out muffled because she was still lying on the ground.

"You will be when I say that 941 was acting under my orders to ask you to come with me to the library because I required your assistance to work out some strategies for that training mission that we've got tomorrow afternoon," 511 said.

908 sighed irritably and finally got up from the ground. "Yes, sir."

511 nodded. _I guess that time in Psy Ops might have done a slight bit of good. She's actually letting it go for now._ "Then I have nothing more to do here. 941?" He motioned to 941 with his hand and the two of them walked away from the group. Once they were a distance away, 511 turned to the X6 and smiled. "I can't thank you enough for sticking up for 494 like you did back there. I appreciate it, man."

"It's no problem," 941 said. "494's always been great to me. It's one thing to complain about somebody, I know I do it often enough about 224, but to talk about 494 the way that those guys were..." He shuddered.

"Don't worry about them," 511 said.

"I won't," 941 said. "Still..."

"It could have been worse, though," 511 said.

"How?"

"121 could have been there with the two of us."

941 couldn't quite suppress a shiver of fear. "Yikes." He caught 511's eye. "Sorry, 511. She still freaks me out sometimes."

"Don't sweat it, kid," 511 said. "At least I know that you won't be going after my girl." They both laughed.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, calistra, and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support!


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "Cold Comfort" and "Pollo Loco."

_I wonder how many miles they made me swim today in the pool. I think I lost track after ten,_ 121 thought many weeks later as she made her way through the halls back towards her cell. _It sure as hell made me work up an appetite, though. I'm so hungry that even the cardboard meatloaf sounds good!_ She turned around the corner and started to go down the hallway that she and the rest of Unit 3 lived in, barely restraining a wince as she passed by 494's cell. _It's okay. It's okay. Don't worry, you've got at least eighteen more weeks to go and then you'll see your best friend again. You can make it._ She took a deep breath and stopped in front of her own cell and reached to open the door.

"Hello, 121."

121 looked up suspiciously as 908 stepped out of her cell farther down the hall. _What the hell is she so damn happy about? She's actually shut up about 494 being in Psy Ops for a little while now. Something's odd here._ "Hello, 908. It's nice to see you in a good mood today."

"It's nice to be in such a pleasant mood," 908 returned cordially.

_Okay, this is not right._ "That's correct," 121 said. "Listen, 908, I just swam a lot of miles in the pool and I want to shower and change before lunch. I'll see you in the cafeteria for lunch, okay?"

"Sure, no problem," 908 said. "Just don't get lost on your way there. Oh, that reminds me."

121's eyes narrowed. "Reminds you of what?"

"Nothing," 908 said innocently. "It's just something I heard in passing. It's no big deal, really, just hearsay."

"Cut the cutesy games, 908," 121 said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Have you ever noticed that some things happen in pairs?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's just that it might be a little bit longer before you see your best friend again, that's all," 908 said. She was unable to keep the smile off of her face.

121 rolled her eyes. "Very funny, 908. 494 is stuck in Psy Ops. It's not like he can do much in there to extend his stay."

"Point taken," 908 conceded. "But I didn't say that it was something that 494 did."

"Huh?"

"It was—"

"908, I need to talk privately with 121. Please either return to your cell or go to the cafeteria early," 511 said as he appeared at the head of the hallway. He walked up to the two women and stood next to 121.

908 just looked at 511. "I don't see what the big deal is, 511. I was only going to tell 121 that—"

511 just cut 908 off again. "I believe that I told you to either get back to your own cell or to go to lunch."

"Oh come on, sir," 908 said in disgust.

"X5-908, I am giving you an order," 511 snapped. He pointed back the way that he came. "Go!"

"Affirmative, sir," 908 said. She paused for a moment as if considering something, then shook her head, saluted 511, and walked away in the direction of the cafeteria.

"What's going on?" 121 asked suspiciously. "Is something wrong, 511?"

"Come on," 511 said. "We do need to talk privately." He gestured towards 121's cell and the two of them went inside and they sat down on the bunk. "I heard this in passing when I was heading back here. I wanted to try to find you before the word completely got out and it looks like I got here just in time."

"You know, getting to the point wouldn't be a bad idea," 121 said, but she was starting to get very worried. She knew instinctively that whatever 511 had to say, it was very bad. "I'm sorry, 511, I didn't mean to snap."

"I know, sweetheart," 511 said. He took a deep breath. "493 is dead."

121 blinked. This had come out of left field. "What?"

"493 was found in a wooded area west of here, closer to metropolitan Seattle," 511 said. "When they came across him, he was dead."

"Holy shit," 121 said. _One of the '09ers is actually dead. I heard awhile ago that 734 had almost died from that progeria-like disease that a few of the X5s in New York had come down with, but she had been found and taken back to Wyoming and she's fine and even re-indoctrinated by now. But an '09er is actually dead…and 494's twin or clone even…my goodness._

"That's not the end of it," 511 said. "It gets worse."

"It gets worse?" 121 repeated. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. "How?"

"A few months ago, a body surfaced with 493's barcode tattooed on the back of its neck," 511 said. "The body wasn't 493, but the way that person died could only have been the result of an X5. More than a month later, another body surfaced. Same tattoo, same M.O. Then a few weeks later, another and a few days ago, another. Yesterday was when they found 493." He frowned. "What's even weirder in a way was how he died. He didn't get sick like 734 did. When Colonel Lydecker and his team got to the site, there'd been signs of a struggle. 493 had a broken leg, but the injury that had killed him was a broken neck. The broken leg _might_ have been the result of bad luck, but the broken neck…the C2 was crushed."

"Like this?" 121 said quietly, making a motion with two fingers.

"Yeah," 511 agreed. "And Colonel Lydecker didn't bring any X-series with him to search for 493, so the running theory is that another '09er found and caught up to him before the Manticore team, they struggled, and 493 was killed. Whether it was in self-defense on the part of the second '09er, I don't know."

121 snorted. "Good thing that 494 was already in Psy Ops when 493's sins came to light, huh?"

"Yeah," 511 said. "As a matter of fact, 494 was brought back here and thrown into Psy Ops the day before the second body was found. Talk about coincidences."

"Yeah," 121 said. "Damn, so that's what 908 meant about shit happening in pairs. I thought the bitch was trying to be funny." _She probably was trying to be funny. God, that smirk of hers, like she was so superior because of 494 and because of that '09er twin of his. I can practically see what was going through her mind now, too. 493 and 494 flip, and…_ 121 shivered suddenly and wrapped her arms around herself. _What if this does happen in pairs? What if somewhere, someday, 120 just loses it? Let's be honest here. I'm not the most stable banana in the bunch and 120 has been on the outside for years. 494 is not too different from me and look what happened to 493 after being on the outside. Oh my God, what if this happens to me?_

"Don't worry, baby, this isn't going to happen to you," 511 said. He pulled 121 into his arms. "You and 120 are not 494 and 493. She isn't going to lose it and even if she does, that won't cause you to lose it. 494 didn't cause 493 to lose it or vice versa. I'd also heard that when Colonel Lydecker and his team had found the place near downtown Seattle where 493 had been staying, they found evidence that suggested that this kind of behavior had been going on long before that first body was discovered, maybe even years before. You and I both know that 494 hasn't shown any kind of abnormal behavior until this most recent mission of his. 908 is just being 908. Just ignore her, okay, sweetie?"

121 nodded. "Okay." She felt 511 loosen his grip around her and she straightened up and sighed. "It's just…I'm scared. What if this does happen to me? What about when 494 gets kicked loose from Psy Ops, what if something happens to him, something on the scale of what 493 apparently did?"

"I've thought about that, too," 511 admitted. "I won't let that happen. Neither of us will let it happen. 494 is not 493. It won't happen." He managed a smirk. "Besides, who knows what could have happened? 493 did spend his formative years in a different facility than we did and even if they are identical twins and not clones, it could even have been something that happened in the womb that could have triggered something with 493. Shit like that can happen to one twin and not the other, even if they are identical."

"I was wondering what had happened to our resident shrink," 121 said, laughing a little.

"He was taking a vacation," 511 said. He looked at his watch. "You've still got time for a shower before lunch. I'll wait for you."

"Thanks," 121 said. "I'll be out in a few." She went into her bathroom and quickly showered and then got dressed and then followed 511 out of her cell and to the cafeteria. By the time that they'd gotten their trays and had sat down, the other members of their unit save for 494 were already sitting at their table. Some of them were grinning, others looked even more moody than usual, and a few of them didn't look any different than what they normally did. 121 and 511 exchanged a glance.

"I took the liberty of telling everybody," 908 said innocently. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, it was going to get out anyway," 121 said sweetly. "Thank you so much for saving 511 and myself the trouble, 908."

"When it rains, it pours," 786 said. "This is just amazing. I guess some things are genetic." She glanced at 121 and smiled innocently. "Wouldn't you say so, 121?"

"Possibly," 121 said. She looked at 786 thoughtfully. "I'm starting to wonder if your egg donor was from Amsterdam."

"Huh? What could make…" 786 trailed off and then rolled her eyes. "Very funny, 121."

"Hey, give the woman points for creativity," 511 said.

"I won't give her shit," 786 said.

"Neither would I," 237 said. "I also wouldn't complain any more about my so-called 'anger management issues' after what 493 just did, 511. I might have a little bit of a temper, but have I gone completely psychotic and started to murder people? No, I have not." He smiled. "You might be able to call me a lot of things, but a psychotic '09er is not one of them." He snapped his fingers. "Oh, wait a second. I meant a dead psychotic '09er. My bad."

511 shrugged. "What's your point, 237?"

"Not much. It's just that when 494 _eventually_ gets out of Psy Ops, I won't be the one that you'll be watching over like a fucking hawk every second of the day," 237 said. "He always acted so high and mighty when he told me to calm down or threatened or actually sent me to the brig when I lost my temper, let's see how he likes getting a taste of his own medicine."

_Is this the logic police? I have an emergency here._ "494 has never had a problem with his anger before and based on what I've heard, it wasn't his anger that caused him to botch his most recent mission," 511 pointed out. "What happened with 494's mission sounded like a fluke occurrence to me. If 494 was going to lose it at any time the way that 493 apparently did, then he would have been sent to Psy Ops a long time ago the way they watch us here. I have complete faith in 494 and I can honestly say for both myself and for 121 that the two of us will not be watching 494 like a hawk when he does return to this unit." He took a sip of his juice. "You're also presuming that 494 will be demoted down from C.O."

"Well, isn't that a given?" 237 asked, confused.

"Not necessarily," 121 said. "The fact still remains that all of 494's test scores and other results are higher than everybody else's here. With the exception of what happened on that mission, he's still the best X5 here. The possibility that he will retain his rank is actually pretty high." She saw 908 start to open her mouth and beat her to the punch. "They didn't bump 908 down the chain of command whenever she got out of her various stays in Psy Ops, including her most recent one. She's still fifth in the chain of command in our unit and still holds her rank within the squad as well. The precedent is there."

"I don't think that anything quite like this has happened before, though," 714 pointed out triumphantly. She exchanged grins and high fives with 908 and 786.

511 shrugged. "Okay, so you've got a point there. My logic still stands, though."

"So what?" 786 said. "Is your logic really as sound as you believe?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are _you_ as sound as you believe? How are any of us to know if maybe you won't simply lose it one of these days? You are best friends with 494 and 121 after all. Maybe one day you'll simply go berserk and be taken off to Psy Ops and we won't hear from you for a very long time."

"If you really want to employ psych warfare, 786, you really should have been paying attention during class," 121 said, rolling her eyes. "Getting the facts straight would also help. I have not lost it to this point. I'll be willing to admit that it could happen in the future only because anything is technically possible, but even so." _Not to mention that if you had been paying attention all these years, you'd realize that 511 is the sanest out of all of us!_

786 gave 121 a nasty look. "511 doesn't need you to fight his battles for him. Who the fuck do you think you are, his mother?"

_No, I'm his girlfriend._ "No, I'm not his mother. But I am his friend," 121 said.

"Funny, 786. When 908 got thrown into Psy Ops for her long stay there, who was it that gave 117 from Unit 6 a black eye when he said something nasty? Was it you or was it 714?" 511 said pointedly.

"That was me," 786 said. "That was also different. 908 wasn't around to defend herself." She saw the looks on the faces of 511 and 121 and correctly guessed what they were thinking and she smiled cruelly. "The difference between 908 and 494 is that 908 is a good person who deserves to be defended when the situation calls for it. 494 is just an afterthought. He was an afterthought from nanosecond one. Even his designation says so. Four-nine-_four_ to Psycho's four-nine-_three_." She gestured to 121 before she took a sip of her soup. "Just like this overgrown piece of shit here."

"Be creative, please," 121 begged. _And don't make me laugh while you're at it. If 908 is considered a good person, then I'm a freaking saint!_

"Hey, if that's what you want," 786 said. "How about—"

"—you be quiet and not say a damn word for the rest of the day," 511 said. "The last thing that I want to see is anybody getting sent to the brig for unsanctioned fighting."

908 gasped in mock surprise. "Even me?"

"Yes, even you, 908," 511 said. "That also means that I don't want to hear a word out of you." He turned around to look at the rest of the members of Unit 3 that were present. "That goes for any of you." He looked next to him at 121. "Including you, 121."

121 nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir." The rest of the unit also nodded and they all went back to their food, though 908, 786, and a few of the others kept giving 511 and 121 dirty looks throughout the rest of lunch. 511 and 121 both ignored them, relieved that they had at least become quiet. _I hope this lasts. Please let this last…_

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, calistra, Angel of Darkness231, and jracklesfan77 for their reviews and support!


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "Female Trouble," "Pollo Loco," "Hit A Sista Back," "Meow," "…And Jesus Brought A Casserole," and "Designate This." Also, just so nobody gets confused, in this AU I made Krit's designation 157 for reasons that were explained in chapter 26a of my fic "Together."

About six weeks later…

511 was shaking his head as he walked through the halls towards Director Renfro's office. _I still can't believe what Director Renfro told us at that assembly earlier this afternoon. Four of the '09ers actually went back and bombed the DNA lab? That's just…well, fucked up is a good phrase to describe it, but somehow I think ballsy is a better one. Unbelievable._ He reached the office door and saluted the two guards that were standing outside. They returned the salute and one guard spoke into a walkie-talkie and a moment later, 511 was allowed to enter the office. He looked briefly to his right and it took every single bit of training that he had not to do a double take when he saw who was already there standing at attention in front of Director Renfro's desk. _Holy shit, 494?_ He also stood at attention and saluted. "X5-511 reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"Both of you, at ease," Renfro said. "511, 494 has made remarkable progress during his stay is Psychological Operations. His progress has been so rapid that we have made the decision to release him and he has officially been cleared for active duty."

"Yes, ma'am," 511 said.

"As for 494's rank, it will remain as is," Renfro said. "It's been decided that 494 will remain in command of both Unit 3 and this entire X5 squad. 511, you will resume your original position as second-in-command effective immediately. Likewise, the two of you will inform 121 of her return to her previous rank."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," 494 and 511 said in unison.

"511, you may fill 494 in on the content of this afternoon's assembly," Renfro said. "Return to your normal schedule. Dismissed." 494 and 511 saluted Renfro and turned around and left the office. As soon as they were around the corner and out of sight of the guards, they gave each other a big hug.

"Damn, man, I didn't think that I'd be seeing you for another three months at least," 511 said. "Welcome back."

"It's great to be back," 494 replied. "What was Director Renfro talking about when she mentioned an assembly this afternoon?"

"Oh, you are going to love this," 511 remarked. "They called all of the X5s, plus all of the X3s, X4s, X6s, X7s, X8s, and even the X9s that were in regular training to one of the lecture halls for an assembly in the middle of lunch today. We get there and Director Renfro comes in and apparently two days ago, four of the '09ers decided to visit their old home and leave a little present, said present being bombing the shit out of the DNA lab."

494's jaw dropped. "No fucking way."

"Definitely way," 511 said. "Not all of them got away unscathed, though. 701 and 157 did get away, but 599 and 452 didn't. Both of them were injured, and according to Director Renfro 452 damn near died, and couldn't get away."

"Well, they got the jewels in the crown, huh?" 494 said. "How many of them does that make re-taken or dead?" A strange look passed through his eyes, but it was gone in a moment. 511 did catch it, though, and gave 494 a brief sympathetic smile before he continued on.

"734, 599, and 452 are now back, though out of the three only 734 was successfully reindoc-ed. I think they must have set a new speed record with her. 798 decided to join her unit after all when she went AWOL while on a solo. You should have seen how pissed Director Renfro was then. 493 is dead and now 656 is as well. I'd heard through the grapevine that they'd found out that she had a husband and a kid and Lydecker got the kid sick and got 656 to turn herself in exchange for her son's life a few weeks ago, though apparently Lydecker almost botched that one. They still hung onto 656 and she'd been taken to another site for testing, but she'd died a few days before some of her unit mates went home for the weekend. So now of the twelve that made it over the perimeter fence in Wyoming eleven years ago, 120, 701, 157, 210, 205, 369, 552, and now 798 as well are listed as AWOL with status unknown."

"Wow, at this rate we might have the whole motley crew back here in twenty years," 494 remarked.

"Yeah, and the fun doesn't end there," 511 said.

494 stared at 511 in disbelief. "You've gotta be shitting me. What now?"

"Director Renfro also told all of us that they're going to be consolidating all three Manticore facilities into one site. Three guesses as to which place is the lucky one," 511 said.

"Well, at least this place might finally seem halfway full," 494 said. "When's the rest of the gang getting here?"

"Director Renfro said that they'd be getting here starting tomorrow," 511 said. "I think the only person who's almost definitely happy about this is 941."

"Yeah, he would be," 494 said. He recalled the conversation that he and 511 had with the teenager when the three of them were at the airport waiting for their flight to Anchorage. "That'll mean that 405 will be around here all of the time."

"She's here right now, actually," 511 said. "941 told me that she's on a solo out in Russia somewhere and she's got to check back in here every couple of weeks, which means that she's temporarily attached to his unit again. Though with this happening, that won't be necessary anymore."

"Yeah," 494 said. "Anything else happen while I've been away or out of action?"

"Just the usual," 511 said. "And 228 went out on a solo last month and she's not scheduled to be back until three months from now, give or take a few days. Other than that, nada."

"Gotcha," 494 said. "What's next on our agenda?"

"Hey, you're the boss. You should be telling me what's next," 511 teased and the two of them laughed. "It's time for us to head to the gym. We've got martial arts." He grinned wickedly. "I can't wait to see the looks on the others' faces when you show up."

"You're afraid that 121 is going to take one look at me after not seeing me for four months and drop you like a hot potato and succumb to my charm?" 494 joked.

"What charm?" 511 replied in the same tone of voice. The two of them chuckled quietly and 511 caught another strange, almost sad look pass through 494's eyes. "Are you okay, 494?"

"I'm always okay," 494 said cockily. His expression softened a little. "I'll tell you when I'm ready, 511."

511 nodded. "I hear you, buddy." He grinned. "If you ever want to visit your friendly resident shrink, my office door is always open."

"With your way with people, no wonder it's always open," 494 joked. "Speaking of which, how have they been behaving recently?"

"As well as can be expected," 511 said. "Some more than others have been especially nasty, but 121 and I have been sticking up for you non-stop and so has 941 once he got back from Bulgaria and figured out what was going on. As for the rest of the people here, 941's unit has been behind you 100 percent, of course, and so have a bunch of other people. About half of the people, though…"

"That's to be expected," 494 noted.

"Yeah," 511 said. "We should be getting to the gym now. Lead the way, boss."

"Will do," 494 said. He and 511 marched towards the gym. When they got there, they paused for a moment before 494 opened the door and the two of them marched in. He couldn't help grinning at the happiness that he saw on 121's face and the sheer horror, disgust, or both on most of the rest of his teammates. "Did you miss me?"

"Oh my God!" 121 said. She ran up to 494 and gave him a big hug. "Thank goodness that you're fine! I can't believe that they sprung you early."

"Hey, when you're as good as me…" 494 said with a cocky grin. He playfully punched 511 in the shoulder. "You were in Director Renfro's office when she told you that they were cutting me loose. You heard what she said."

"Are you going to let 494 get away with that kind of behavior, 511?" 908 said nastily.

"I hate to break it to you, 908," 494 began. _Actually, I don't hate to. I'm loving every second of this._ "But Director Renfro said that I'll be retaining my unit and squad ranking. It looks like I'm still in charge." He saw 908's face turn red with anger. "Ooops." He started to say something else, but they heard multiple pairs of footsteps approaching the gym and a trainer marched in, followed, to 494's surprise, by 941 and his unit. Unit 3 quickly fell into line and stood at attention as the trainer moved in front of them and the X6s lined up next to them.

"At ease," the trainer said. "The trainer for X6 Unit 4's time at the outdoor rifle range has suddenly come down with food poisoning so they will be spending that time here. Pair up and warm up and after you're done, we'll begin." All thirty-five transgenics saluted him and split into pairs or groups of three. 511 and 121 paired together again and 494 paired up with 941. They found a spot on the mats and started to stretch.

"It's so good to have you back this early," 941 said sincerely. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, kid," 494 said. "511 told me that you had my back when I was out of action. Thanks. I appreciate it a lot."

"You're welcome," 941 said. "You've been there for me when I need help so you deserve the same."

494 nodded. "Thanks." He and 941 grinned and quietly gave each other high fives.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Angel of Darkness231, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Designate This."

"It would be nice if they actually told us what these assemblies were about in advance," 494 remarked a few weeks later as he and the rest of his unit sat in one of the lecture halls in the facility. "If this is just going to be some reminder about how we should play nice with everybody since the whole gang is here and had I found out that this is indeed to be the case when they told me about this lovely gathering yesterday when I got our schedules, then I would have sat over in the last row so I could catch a quick nap."

"Very funny," 908 snapped. "How about you quit it with the funny remarks, 494?"

494 sighed. "Duly noted, 908. Now shut up." He grinned when he heard 511 and 121 both snicker softly next to him.

"Grow up," 908 retorted.

"Get some," 494 replied. By this time, 511 and 121 both had their hands over their mouths as they marched to muffle their laughter. "You can joke all you want about it, but it really does get those endorphins going." 908 just rolled her eyes and then she, 786, and 714 got up and sat in another section of the room. "I knew that would do the trick."

"Thank goodness we're so early," 511 agreed. He stretched his arms and watched as other transgenics started to enter the lecture hall. "Hey, there's some X4s here."

"Whoop-de-doo," 121 said. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm just so damn bored right now. Why the hell were we so early getting here, 494?"

"To brighten up your day," 494 said cheerfully.

121 flipped him off. "Oh yeah. Silly me, I forgot about that. That was very considerate of you."

"I try my best," 494 replied.

"Well, since it looks like nobody is bothering to sit with their own unit," another voice said jokingly. 849 laughed as she sat down next to 121. "What's going on, you guys?"

"Same old, same old," 121 said. "Where's the rest of your bunch?"

849 waved her hand around. "Here and there, just like everybody else seems to be. I know, I should keep better track of everybody and I honestly do. Everybody just seems to be in a 'getting to know you' kind of mood since the people from Gillette and Syracuse got here a couple of weeks ago, you know what I mean?"

"Tell me about it," 511 said. "I think I might have run into New York's version of 786 the other day."

"How many pieces did 121 leave her in?" 849 asked.

"Unfortunately, there were cameras in the hallway. We were in A wing at the time," 121 said. "I mean, when we happened to run into her again when we were passing through B wing on our way to a class and she happened to accidentally trip and break her nose, that was just bad luck. It sometimes gets so crowded in here these days, you know what I mean?"

"You are one vicious woman," 849 said.

"Only when it comes to my man," 121 said. She sighed. "Damn, I'm bored. When the hell is this thing going to start?"

"It'll start when Director Renfro wants it to start," 494 said in a mock patronizing tone of voice. 121 flipped him off, but 494 just grinned at her.

"You just have to get a rise out of everybody, don't you?" 849 said. "Even your own best friends."

"That's my job," 494 said cheerfully.

"I'm willing to bet that you've got some new targets picked out among the newbies, huh?" 849 said.

494 nodded. "Of course I do. Let's run down the list. There's 778, this X4 from New York. He's dumber than an ordinary sometimes and yet he never seems to comprehend this. He falls for it every time, so it's not really that much fun anymore. 260, this X5 from Wyoming, is another great new target of mine. I tried to pick her up once and she took me up on my offer, but lucky for me she revealed herself to be completely neurotic so I canceled our 'date.' It would have been too much like sleeping with 304 or 532, neither of which I've banged and I'm grateful for that fact. But like the other females in our bunch, she's great to annoy. And my favorite new target…" He grinned wickedly. "405."

"405?" 511 repeated. "As in X6-405? The girl that 941 has a huge crush on? Are you high? Both she and 941 can kick your ass."

"I know," 494 said. "I already apologized in advance to 941. He's cool with it, though he pretty much agreed that I'd be taking my life in my own hands. It's a blast with her because she's such a challenge. I ran a few weeks ago as she was getting her unit settled in, it was the day before she went back to Russia, and she didn't get pissed off. I'm pretty sure that I annoyed her, but she's not easily baited no matter what, whether I tease her or pretend to flirt or what. It's great."

"I would say that Psy Ops loosened a few screws up there, but the sad thing is that you were like this for your entire life," 121 said. "You scare me sometimes, 494." She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the number of people that were entering the room. "Damn, this is going to be one hell of a big assembly."

"They seem to be in favor of getting everybody together to tell them at the same time lately," 511 noted. He shrugged. "Whatever."

"I'll tell you one thing, there's plenty of great looking guys from New York and Wyoming," 849 said, looking around the lecture hall. "Check out that X5 over there sitting in that corner. I know a lot of the guys here are really built, but this guy…damn."

"Are you going into heat, 849?" 494 asked.

849 shook her head. "No. I'm not supposed to get my next heat for another month." She rolled her eyes. "What is it with you guys? I happen to appreciate some of the fine male specimens that happen to be here now and you automatically assume that I'm going into heat. Oh, for crying out loud. Besides, if I was going into heat, you'd be all over me like ants on a picnic and there'd probably be the mother of all melees while the guys try to get with me."

"I know," 494 said.

"Could have fooled me," 121 teased. "What a dumbass."

"That stings," 494 said. He glanced around at the now nearly-full room. "Threes…fours…fives…no sixes, sevens, or anybody else. This is interesting."

"So? Maybe it's something that they only want to tell us big kids," 511 said.

"That doesn't happen all that often," 494 said. _The last time…_He shuddered as a memory came to him. _Yikes. That was an ugly time._

"Earth to X5-494," 511 said. He waved a hand in front of 494's face. "Come back to the planet, buddy."

494 blinked. "Sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"What?" 849 asked.

"A—" 494 stopped suddenly when the door to the lecture hall opened and Renfro walked inside and up to the podium at the front of the room. "Phew. Saved by Director Renfro."

"Thank you all for being here," Renfro said. "You all know about the destruction of the DNA lab at the hands of some of the rogue X5s." 494, 511, 121, and 849 all exchanged a look and rolled their eyes. Luckily, nobody caught them and Renfro continued to talk. "There had been talk about constructing a new DNA lab here in this facility. However, that would take time and a great expense and while that remains our goal to have a fully-functioning DNA laboratory running in the future, that project has been put on hold until further notice."

"Get to the point," 511 muttered irritably under his breath.

"When the explosives had been set off, all of the DNA samples were lost, as well as all notes and samples pertaining to what was supposed to have been the X10 generation, which had been in the planning stages at the time of the incident. However, it has been decided by my superiors that not only will the production of new soldiers continue, but it will be continued sooner than had been originally planned," Renfro continued. "The original X10 generation has been scrapped, but a different X10 generation, as well as the X11 and X12 series will be created." She looked out at all of the transgenics. "Effective tomorrow night, we will be implementing a new breeding program."

121 went pale. She looked to her right and saw that 849 looked similarly frightened. She grabbed 511's hand and squeezed it tightly. "This can't be fucking happening."

"I hope she's joking," 494 said grimly.

"I wouldn't count on it," 849 said quietly.

"This breeding program, unlike the first one years ago, will solely be between transgenics," Renfro said. "You will not all start on the program all at once, but rather be phased into it over the next several months. Each transgenic will be paired one of the opposite sex of the same generation. X3 males will be paired with X3 females, et cetera. The pairs will be chosen at random by myself and my staff and the pairings will be posted on various boards throughout the facility. Otherwise, this program will be structured very much like the previous one. The males will report to the cell of their partner at 2030 hours and they will remain there until lights out and he and his partner are expected to copulate during that period of time. If the female goes into heat, however, the pair will be uninterrupted and the male will be allowed to leave the cell when the female's heat has finished. The trainers will be getting reports from the X3 and X4 pairs every following morning and I will personally be getting the reports from the X5s. Unlike the previous program, no written report will be required. The participating females will be taking pregnancy tests once a week. Once a female has been placed into the program, they will be put on restricted duty. The first pairings will be posted early tomorrow morning. Any questions?" The transgenics were quiet and Renfro nodded. "Dismissed."

494 got up and he led 511, 121, and 849 out of the lecture hall. Everybody else seemed to be hanging around inside, discussing what had just happened. He looked at 121 with concern. "Are you going to be okay this time around, 121?"

"I don't know," 121 said. "This is still sick. This whole fucking breeding program concept is absolutely disgusting." She took a deep breath. "I can handle it this time. I know that I can do it. I was only fifteen when the first program started and now I'm almost twenty-three. I'm an adult. I can pull it off."

"Are you sure?" 494 asked skeptically. "You sound like you're trying to convince yourself."

"Don't stop me," 121 admitted. "The hardest part is going to be…" She shuddered. "How can I cheat on my boyfriend? I don't give a rat's ass that I'll be under orders."

"You won't be cheating on me," 511 said. "This is completely forced. It won't be cheating."

121 nodded. "You're right. That still isn't going to make it any easier when the time comes, though."

"I know," 511 agreed. "Damnit."

"This is going to be hell," 849 said. "One way or another."

"Whatever happens, let's just cross our fingers and pray," 494 said. "Come on, cheer up. We've survived worse. We got out of the first breeding program fine, didn't we? The two of you didn't even get pregnant then."

"Yeah, but only around sixteen percent of all of the females who'd been a part of it the first go-around actually got pregnant," 849 reminded him. "I know that 121 and I, and 228 as well for that matter, were part of the lucky eighty-four percent, but that was with ordinary humans. This time she and I will be paired up with fellow X5s and you know the stats. Estimated ninety-eight percent chance of conception when in heat and we've got to figure that the conception rate when not in heat is at least as good as an ordinary female's, if not better. We're gonna get knocked up out of this deal whether we like it or not." She managed a small smile. "At least this time we'll be sort-of around the kids, you know? I don't know what happened with the children from the first program and I don't want to know, but at least these babies will be in the same building as us. It's a start."

"I just hope that I get pregnant before I go into heat again in the beginning of June," 121 said. "There's only one person who's ever going to sleep with me when I'm in heat, and that's going to be you, 511. Nobody else."

511 smiled. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too," 121 replied.

494 smiled sadly. _I--_ He mentally shook his head and looked back towards the lecture hall's entrance. "We should be getting back in there to collect our units and to get to our next activities." He held out his hand to 849. "Good luck, 849. We'll see you later."

"Thank you," 849 said. "Good luck to you guys as well."

"Thanks," 494 said. They turned around and went back inside the lecture hall.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 and calistra for their reviews and support!


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

121 played with her spoon as she stared into her empty oatmeal bowl at breakfast the following morning. _First couples go up today. I hope I'm not one of them and if I am, please let 511 be my breeding partner! I won't say a word if that happens. Please, please, please!_ She looked up and made a face as 494 slurped the last of his cold cereal straight from the bowl. "That's disgusting, 494."

"Affirmative," 494 said. He laughed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Just trying to loosen you up, 121."

121 managed a smile. "I know. Thank you."

"I wonder if the lists are going to be up after we're done," 967 said. "They weren't up when we left for lineup and roll call. Do you think they'll be up by now?"

"Well, Director Renfro did say that they would be up early this morning," 511 said. "I'd say that there's a good shot that they'll be up by now."

714 smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Who here is looking forward to this? There are so many hot guys here. Personally, I'm hoping to get this one guy that I spotted yesterday when we were outside running the obstacle course. I think his designation was 557. I don't know where he's originally from, but I wouldn't mind having sex with him! How about you, 786? Got any preferences?"

"None in particular," 786 said. "I'll be happy with whomever they assign to me." She raised an eyebrow when she heard 121 snort. "Yes, 121? Do you have something to add to this discussion?"

"Me? Not really," 121 said. "It's nothing that any of us don't already know."

"Whoever's going to end up being your breeding partner is going to he the unluckiest man on this planet," 786 said. She smiled sweetly. "What the hell, since we are having this conversation, do you have any particular preference as to who the unlucky son-of-a-bitch might be?"

"511," 121 said automatically and then she and 511 both winced at the same time. _Oh, shit! We've managed to keep it under wraps for the past few years and the whore asks one question and I just had to answer honestly. Great._

"Excuse me?" 786 said in disbelief. "You'd actually want 511 to be your breeding partner if you had a say in the matter?" She shook her head. "I always knew that you were completely fucking crazy, 121, but I didn't know that you were that far gone."

121 looked next to her at 511, who nodded slightly and gave her a quick smile. "If that's true, then I must be a complete nut case because I love the guy and we've had a relationship for the past few years." She couldn't help grinning when she saw the shocked looks on some of the faces of her teammates. "What? We're adults."

"You've actually had a serious relationship with somebody?" 295 said in disbelief.

"Yes, I of all people have had a serious relationship somebody and yes, I know what you were going to say, I don't think Director Renfro would be throwing a party to celebrate if she ever found out," 121 said. "If you ever think about snitching, then I'm going to make sure that you won't be able to perform up to standards for the breeding program." She smirked. "Though from what I've heard, you weren't able to perform up to standards in the first program." 121 put an innocent look on her face when she saw 295 clearly getting angry. "Hey, don't look at me like that, 295. This was only something that I heard in passing."

"You…and 511…" 908 said. She shuddered. "That's horrible."

"Actually, it's the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me, 908," 511 said. "I can't change your opinion, but 121 is a wonderful woman."

"Shut up before I puke all over the table," 714 said in disgust. "I really don't want to go through the entire day with vomit-breath."

"Personally, I think vomit-breath would be an improvement over that bubble gum mint crap that her breath usually smells like," 494 said to 511 and 121, but he made sure to speak just loud enough for 714 to also hear him.

"It's bubble gum spearmint and it's called mouthwash," 714 said irritably.

786 put and hand on 714's shoulder. "Don't worry, 714. 494 is just being his usual asshole self. Ignore him."

121 looked mildly surprised. "Wow, 786, I'm almost impressed. If you weren't insulting my best friend, I'd actually call that good advice." 786 started to reply, but the warning bell rang and everybody got up and went to put their trays away. 121 took a deep breath as she followed 494 and 511 out of the cafeteria. _Don't let this be to bad…don't let me be on it today. I'm not ready!_

494 looked up as they approached a bulletin board. "It looks like the lists are up." They quickly crowded to it. "Twenty-five pairs are going to be starting things off tonight."

"Twenty-five pairs total or twenty-five pairs among the X5s?" 511 asked.

"Among the X5s," 494 replied.

"Oh," 511 said. He looked up at the X5 list and couldn't help the shudder that ran through him when he saw who was listed as a participant. _Damn, why now?_

"511, what's going on? What's wrong?" 121 asked. 511 pointed to the lists and 121 turned to look. _Okay, X5s…pairs by females…X5-035 paired with X5-781…X5-104 paired with X5-933…_ She felt her heart sink into her stomach when she read the next pair listed. _X5-121 paired with X5-591. Fuck! No, why now? Why not with 511?_ She hung her head as she moved away from the bulletin board. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she could finally speak again. "One damn digit. One stupid fucking digit."

"I'm sorry," 494 said sincerely. "I'm really sorry." He looked at his two best friends with concern. "Are both of you going to be okay?"

"I don't know," 121 said, her voice breaking. "How the hell am I going to do this tonight? My God, my cell is right next to 511's. How can I sleep with somebody else when he can hear the entire thing? I can't do that to him!"

"I'll wear earplugs. I'll do something," 511 said. He wrapped his arms around 121. "Don't worry. Remember, you won't be cheating on me. This isn't cheating in any way, shape, or form."

"I know," 121 said.

"How about you scream out 511's designation when you're copulating?" 494 suggested with a wicked grin.

121's jaw dropped. "That is absolutely evil…"

"So?" 494 said. "If it really is that evil, then only shout out 511's designation if 591 is really bad in the sack."

"…and that is why you're one of my best friends," 121 finished, finally cracking a smile. "I don't think that's a bad idea." She shrugged. "This is going to be the hardest thing I'll ever do in my life. I might as well get some fun out of this."

"That's the spirit," 494 said.

"That's my girl," 511 said. He gave her another hug. "Here's hoping 591 will not be as good as I am in bed."

"Oh, nobody can be as good as you are in bed, baby," 121 assured him.

"He's even better than me?" 494 said, pretending to be hurt.

"Much better than you," 121 said. They turned around and started to march off to their first class of the day and 121 felt her mood start to slide downward again. _Yeah, I should get something out of this, but the fact still stands that this will be harder than anything that I've ever done in my entire life. It was different during the first breeding program because I wasn't in love with 511 or at least if I was, then I wasn't aware of it. Now…_ She felt 511 reach behind him to take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze and she couldn't help smiling again. _At least I have his support and 494's as well. Thank goodness for their support. Maybe I will get through this somehow. Maybe._

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Angel of Darkness231, Yeoman1000, and calistra for their reviews and support! Yeoman1000, stay tuned to find out what happens in the breeding program with regards to 786. Thank you all so much again!


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Special thanks to jracklesfan77 for her help with this chapter! Just so nobody gets confused, in the flashback parts of this chapter, the thoughts are in regular type and everything else will be in italics. Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda."

511 walked into his cell that night and shut the door behind him. He sat down on his bunk with a sigh and stared at the wall that separated his cell from 121's. _In just minutes, the woman that I love is going to be forced into having sex with another man. God, how am I going to get through this? I had to be strong in front of 121. I know how sensitive she is deep down. I couldn't let her see how upset I really am over this situation._ He reflexively tensed when he heard footsteps approach 121's cell and that door opening. He listened in on what was being said.

"Hello, there," an unfamiliar male voice said. "You must be 121. I'm 591."

"Yeah, it's a thrill," 121 said flatly.

"Oh, come on," 591 said. "I know that these aren't the best of circumstances, but this is going to be sex without the fear of getting caught and punished. How bad can it be?"

"Plenty," 121 said venomously.

"Okay, if you still want to be upset about why we're going to be fucking, that's fine. You'll get over it eventually," 591 said confidently. There was a pause. "Damn, you're beautiful."

511 clenched his fists. _One more remark like that and I don't care how much time in Psy Ops it'll get me, I'll make sure that you won't be able to move or even breathe on your own for a very long time, much less have sex with anybody._

"No shit. I'm also an X5," 121 said, clearly annoyed.

"Listen…I know…how about we make this real? How about we become mates?" 591 asked.

"No," 121 said immediately. 511 breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his hands. "There's no way that I'll ever mate with you, 591. I've got somebody already whom I'm more or less mated to. I love him with every cell in my body and nothing can make me feel differently, especially not this. I'm only copulating with you because I am under orders, just like you are. I will follow through with what I had been told to execute, but it's not going to go any farther under any circumstances. Got it, 591?"

"Fine," 591 said reluctantly. "That's acceptable."

"Want some company, buddy?"

511 almost jumped and turned his head to see 494 standing in the doorway to his cell. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might need some moral support," 494 said. He entered the cell and closed the door behind him. He walked across the room and sat down next to 511 on the bunk. "How are you holding up?"

"Well, considering that they just started," 511 said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the wall. "I'm doing abso-fucking-lutely peachy."

"I'm sorry, man," 494 said. "I really am."

"I know that you are," 511 said. He leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "What am I going to do, 494? This is killing me. It's killing me that the woman that I love more than anything else on this planet is only a few feet away being forced to have sex with somebody else and it's killing me because I know how much this is hurting her. I can't stand this. I don't think that I can take hearing them through this wall." He lifted his head up and turned to 494, the tears streaming down his face. "What am I going to do?"

494 felt his heart wrench at the pain and agony that his best friend was clearly in. _I feel for you, 511. I feel so badly for you. I felt almost the same when…_ The memories came to him full force and he closed his eyes.

* * *

"…_except for Thursdays, when your lesson with her will begin at five in the evening because her last class on that day runs until four," Mr. Berrisford said. "Does that work for you, Simon?"_

"_It sounds good to me, sir," 494 replied._

"_Excellent," Mr. Berrisford said. "Come with me and you can meet my daughter." The two of them left the study and as they waited in the music room, 494 turned his head and coming around the corner was the most beautiful face that he'd ever seen before…_

* * *

"_That's great," 494 said as he watched Rachel play. "You've been getting much better just in the last couple of days alone."_

"_It's much easier to learn when your teacher is somebody that's not boring," Rachel replied._

"_Not boring? Damn, I was hoping for gorgeous, witty, unforgettable…" 494 teased. The two of them laughed and met each other's gaze, then blushed and looked away._

* * *

"_At the party last night…was that just the champagne that I saw you drinking?" Rachel asked nervously as she stopped playing and turned to face 494 next to her. "It's just that it felt so incredible and so…perfect and I know how guys are. Well, I know how some of the guys I go to school with are and I…"_

"_Rachel, I'm not any of the guys that you go to school with," 494 said sincerely. "The kiss last night was not influenced in any way by alcohol. I kissed you last night because I really have feelings for you." He reached over and gently touched Rachel's face. "I think I might be falling in love with you."_

_Rachel gasped. "Really?"_

"_Really," 494 said._

"_Oh my God, Simon," Rachel said. She looked up at 494 with shining eyes. "I think I'm falling in love with you, too."_

"_Wow," 494 said softly. "Wow." He leaned down and kissed her gently._

* * *

"_It was great seeing you again, Simon," Rachel said cheerfully as she walked 494 to her front door. As soon as her father was out of sight and earshot, she gave 494 a hug. "I'm gonna miss you."_

_494 laughed. "Hey, I'll be back tomorrow." He looked around to make sure that Mr. Berrisford was still not in sight before he leaned down and looked Rachel in the eye. He cleared his throat. _Why the hell am I nervous? It's not like I haven't asked girls out on dates before on missions. Oh yeah, I remember why. I've never loved them before._ "Rachel, how about we go out on a date? An actual date?"_

"_Really?" Rachel squealed._

"_Absolutely," 494 said. "How about on Monday night? There's this nice little Chinese restaurant in the city. We could go to a movie first. You said you wanted to catch that new comedy, right?"_

"_Right," Rachel said. "It's a date, Simon."_

_494 grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."_

* * *

_494 strode up to the Berrisfords' front door, deep in thought. _What the hell am I going to tell them? What would be the most plausible explanation that would get them out of the house and someplace safe? Maybe I could give Berrisford a subtle hint about going on a family vacation with Rachel and just not tell Manticore about it until they left. I could tell the folks back home that Berrisford wanted to surprise Rachel with a vacation for doing as well as she did on her first semester's worth of final exams. Hell, I'll come up with something. I always was good at thinking on my feet like that._ He rang the doorbell and to his slight surprise, it was Mr. Berrisford himself and not one of the bodyguards or maids who answered the door. "Hello, sir."_

"_Right on time, like always," Mr. Berrisford said. "I was just about to call you to let you know that Rachel's lesson is going to be delayed by an hour today. I'm going to drive her into town to get her books for the spring semester and a few other things that she's also going to need for school. It's always good to get a jump on things, isn't it?"_

"_It sure is, sir," 494 agreed._

_Mr. Berrisford nodded and turned back inside the house. "Rachel! Let's get going!" He turned back to 494. "I'll be seeing you later, Simon." He walked past 494 and to the sedan that sat in the driveway and stood next to the driver's side door, obviously waiting for his daughter._

"_Hey, Simon," Rachel said happily. "I guess Dad told you about the delay."_

"_Yeah," 494 said. "I'll see you again in an hour."_

"_See you then," Rachel said. She lowered her voice. "I love you."_

"_I love you, too," 494 said. He watched Rachel walk to the car and she reached for the door when he heard a click and froze. _Damnit! They jumped the gun and planted and armed the fucking bomb. _"Run! There's a bomb under your car and it's going to blow! Run!" He watched as Mr. Berrisford and Rachel ran from the car, but it exploded only seconds later. 494 looked on in horror as he saw Rachel, who had been trailing her father, picked up by the shockwave of the explosion and hit the ground hard, landing on her head and not moving at all. "Rachel, no! Rachel!"_

* * *

"494?"

"Yeah, 511?" he said distantly.

511 pointed to 494's hands. "You're shaking."

"I'm fine," 494 said, though he quickly shoved his indeed shaking hands into his pockets. He turned to look into 511's red-rimmed eyes and sighed softly. _Maybe he needs to hear this. Maybe this will help him._ He took a deep breath and started to talk. "I took care of the actual piano teacher like I was told to do. It was almost too easy. Then the next day, I went to Berrisford's mansion. I met the guy and then I met…I met Rachel." He looked down for a moment. "She was so beautiful, 511. She had these big brown eyes and the sweetest smile and she was just so happy and innocent. I was floored. I'd never met anybody like her before."

"Wow," 511 said softly.

"We got to know each other and every day after that, these feelings that I had for her got stronger and stronger," 494 recalled. "We had our first kiss out by her pool this one night at a party that her dad threw that he'd actually invited me to. It was just this amazing moment, like everything fit right where it was supposed it, you know what I mean?"

"I do," 511 said. He remembered his first kiss with 121 with perfect clarity.

"It wasn't too much longer after that when I asked her out on a real date," 494 said. He shuddered. "It was also around that time when I found out that the suspicious that Renfro and everybody had about her father were true. I checked in and presented the evidence and I was ordered to plant a bomb on their car and detonate it by remote, but I was ordered not only to kill Berrisford, but Rachel as well. I didn't see the point, but they didn't want to take any chances. Fine with me, you know? I'd figured that I'd warn them somehow to get to a safe location. I was given a week to plant and set off the bomb. But then I found out that they _really _didn't want to take any chances."

"What happened?" 511 asked, his voice unusually quiet.

"I got to their place the next day and I was told that they lesson would be delayed while they went into town," 494 said. He started to become choked up. "They got to the car and they were about to get in when I heard the click of a bomb being remotely armed. I screamed for them to run away and Mr. Berrisford did make it to a safe distance, but Rachel…the shockwave threw her and she hit her head when she landed. She wasn't moving…I…" 494 finally broke down. 511 immediately slid over and gave his best friend a hug.

"I'm so sorry, man," 511 said. "I'm so sorry."

494 nodded and continued to cry for a few minutes before he stopped and looked up. "I know how you feel, 511. The moment when I saw Rachel hit her head when she landed on the ground, everything in me just fell apart. It hurt so damn badly and it still hurts when I think about it." He took a deep breath. "You're the luckiest guy I know, 511. What happened to Rachel was permanent, but this situation is not. Eventually, this breeding program will be over and you and 121 will move on together and things will be back to what they had been, if not even better because of how you weathered this storm with each other."

511 looked at 494 and then hugged him again. "Thank you so much, 494. I can't tell you how lucky I am to have you as a friend."

"Same here," 494 said. They sat down on 511's bunk quietly, both of them wincing when they heard the sounds of 591 climaxing. They turned and watched the wall, afraid of what 121 could say.

"Oh baby…oh baby…oh 511!"

511 and 494 looked at each other, both of them wide-eyed, and covered their mouths with their hands to keep their laughter quiet. "Holy shit," 511 gasped. "I can't believe she actually did it!"

"Excuse me? What the fuck was that?" 591 snapped.

"_That_ was me calling out my boyfriend's designation because you couldn't even begin to get the job done, asshole!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that maybe if you could actually get it up tomorrow night, then maybe I won't have to yell out my boyfriend's designation," 121 retorted. 494 and 511 started laughing so hard, they couldn't even begin to speak, much less concentrate on what 121 said when she started talking again. "I sure as hell won't be yelling out yours, but…" There was a small pause and then 121 started to speak again, her voice laden with sarcasm. "I'm sure that it happens to a lot of guys, 591. Would you like for me to ask around so that I can find out?"

"That's real nice, 121," 591 said, his voice as sarcastic as 121's. "How would you like for me to tell Director Renfro tomorrow morning when she gets the reports from us that we not only failed to copulate, but that you called out somebody else's designation? The director doesn't look stupid. She'll be able to draw her own conclusions from that."

"Then I'll make you a deal," 121 said. "We report that we copulated as ordered and I won't say a word to anybody about the fact that you couldn't get it up. Only one condition: you better get it up tomorrow night or all bets are off."

"Fine," 591 said. There was the sound of him and 121 getting dressed and then silence.

"Yes!" 511 said. He exchanged a triumphant high-five with 494. "I am the only one who can satisfy my woman. You slept with her before we started dating, so you don't count."

"Thanks," 494 said. He looked as the triumph faded from 511's face and some of the hurt returned. "Are you going to be okay, 511?"

"I don't know," 511 said honestly. He looked in the direction of 121's cell, his expression worried.

494 smiled knowingly. "Leave it to me. I'll bribe the guard into letting the two of you have a few minutes to yourselves. It'll only be a few minutes, though."

"It'll be better than nothing," 511 said gratefully. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," 494 said. They smiled at each other.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, calistra, and jracklesfan77 for your reviews and support!


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Designate This."

"I bet you that I can take you tonight," 511 said to 494 several nights later as they walked to one of the rec rooms. "I've got a feeling. There's no way that you can beat me at eight ball tonight."

494 snorted. "In your dreams, 511." They opened the door and walked inside. The room was already occupied by a few X3s and X4s and 405's unit. Both of the pool tables were being used, one by two X4s and the other by 405 and one of her unit mates. 494 nodded to the two of them. "Can I get winners?"

"Sure," 405 said after a quick glance to the X6 that she was playing against.

"Thanks," 494 said. He and 511 walked over to one of the couches and sat down. "It's nice not having to listen to 714's gushing over how hot the guy she got paired with this morning is. It was driving me crazy."

"Who did she get?" 511 asked.

"003. I think he's from Syracuse," 494 said.

"494, you ready?" 405 asked from where she was racking up the balls. The unit mate that she had been playing against was walking towards a small group that was watching the TV in the room, which was tuned to CNN.

"Of course," 494 said. He got up and walked over to the pool table and grabbed a cue and chalked up. "Do you want to break?"

"It's okay, you can break," 405 said. "I broke last game."

"Cool," 494 said. He placed the cue ball in the correct spot, aimed, and fired. He looked at the balls satisfactorily. "I've got solids." He walked around the table and lined up his next shot. "I hope you know that I've got a six game unbeaten streak going in eight ball."

"I'll take care of that," 405 said.

"Oh, come on," one of the other X6s whined.

"773…" 405 started to say.

"Not you, the TV," 773 said quickly, pointing. The other transgenics in the room looked as the picture faded out into static and then red, white, and blue lines and a pair of eyes appeared on the screen.

"Just what we need to brighten up our day," 405 muttered sarcastically. 494 and 511 both looked at her curiously, but she didn't elaborate.

"Do not adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom bulletin…" Eyes Only began.

One of the X3s sighed. "This is the third time so far this month and we're only just over a week into April. This is ridiculous."

"…genetic research facility called Manticore. It has been existence since the 1980s. This is not simply a lab, they create babies with enhanced DNA specifically to be super soldiers. They train these children from day one. No child should have to be tortured the way these transgenics are. Eyes Only has it's eyes on you, Manticore, and once the Informant Net has found where you are, you will pay for what you have done. This is a streaming freedom bulletin. Peace. Out." The TV went back to the program that it had originally been tuned to and the transgenics also returned to what they had been doing.

"I just wish that guy would shut up," 405 said somewhat irritably.

494 raised an eyebrow as he finally took his shot. "What's with the attitude towards Eyes Only, 405?"

"Other than the obvious subject matter?" 405 said dryly. "The guy just has such a fucking 'Holier-than-thou-because-I-think-I-am-saving-the-world' attitude." She waited patiently as 494 missed his next shot and she walked around to line up her own shot, which she made. "Also, he never thinks ahead. He's always thinking in the short term. Well, maybe not completely, but he's not thinking as long-term as he could be."

"What, like he doesn't think about every detail that he might need to?" 511 guessed.

"Bingo," 405 said. She sank her next shot and lined up another one. "And third, why doesn't he get up off his fucking lazy ass and do things for himself? You guys heard him. He said that when the Informant Net has found us, not himself. And that's a fourth thing. Does he realize how fucking irritating it is to refer to himself in the third person all the damn time?" She frowned and attempted her next shot, only to miss it. "Damn. Your turn, 494."

"I do believe that's the most agitated that I've ever seen you, 405," 494 said. "I thought that you never lost your cool."

"Only for the people who deserve it," 405 said.

"So I don't deserve it?" 494 said.

"Not yet, but keep it up. You never know," 405 deadpanned. They continued their game until 494 finally won. 405 sighed. "Who wants winners?"

"I'll take him, thanks," 511 said. He took the cue from 405 and re-chalked it. "What do you think, 494?"

"About what?" 494 asked. "Eyes Only, 405's rant, or the fact that 405 ranted about something in the first place?"

511 shrugged. "I don't know. Whichever you want, I guess."

"Personally, I don't care about Eyes Only, though he must have some issues if he does have the complex that 405 thinks that he has," 494 said. "Hey, if there is somebody who knows about having issues, you're looking at him."

"True," 511 said, laughing. They played a game, which 511 won, and then went back to the couch and sat down and watched the TV. "Do you think CNN was this boring before the Pulse?"

"I don't know," 494 said. He looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. "Damn, we should be getting back to our cells if we want to be there in time for lights out." He and 511 got up and left the room and walked through the building to their cells. As they turned the corner to their hallway, they saw 591 leaving 121's cell. 591 paused when he saw 494 and 511 standing there, almost blocking his way.

"Yes?" he said slowly. "Can I help you?"

"I don't know," 511 said coldly. "Have you been behaving yourself?"

"Oh, you must be the famous 511," 591 said. He smirked cruelly. "121 talks about you quite a bit when we sleep together."

"You don't sleep together. She and I have slept together. The two of you are copulating under orders," 511 snapped.

"Sorry," 591 said snidely, his jade-green eyes clearly unapologetic. "You sure about that?"

_The nerve of that fucker! He wasn't the one who had 121 cry on his shoulder for a good ten minutes that first night because it hurt her so damn much to be forced into this situation!_ He started to make a move towards 591, but 494 put a hand on 511's shoulder, stopping him.

"Trust me, he's sure," 494 said confidently. "Listen, would you mind doing me a favor and shutting your damn mouth before my friend here does something that he regrets? I don't want to see him getting into trouble for something as dumb as you are."

"Oh?" 591 said. "What makes you think that I'll shut up?"

494 just grinned. "Well, let's just say that you only made that deal with 121, huh?" 591 looked puzzled for a few moments before his face went red with anger when he finally realized what 494 had been referring to. "Good boy. Now go back to your cell and get a good night's sleep." He watched 591 walk away before he turned back to 511, concerned. "You okay?"

"One more…" 511 said. He took a deep breath. "I'll be fine."

"Good," 494 said. He gave 511 a friendly slap on the back and they both looked up as 121 left her cell and approached them. "We just passed the asshole. Don't worry, there wasn't any bloodshed."

"Okay," 121 said shakily.

511 frowned. "Are you okay? Did 591 do anything to you?"

"In a sense," 121 said. She seemed unusually nervous. "Have either of you guys noticed anything different in how I've been smelling today? My scent, I mean."

494 shrugged. "I don't know, but you were put on restricted duty after the first night so we haven't been seeing you around as much as usual and we've all been preoccupied for pretty much the whole day, anyway. Why?" He looked at 121 and felt alarm when he saw tears start to form in her eyes. "121, what's wrong?"

"You both remember…786…about seven years ago?" 121 broke down and flung herself at 511, sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, 511! I didn't want it to be him, I wanted it to be you. I'm so sorry!"

511 held his girlfriend while she cried, confused at first. _786 seven years ago…_ Suddenly, he sniffed and sure enough, 121 did smell slightly different. His eyes widened and he turned to look at 494, his expression devastated. 121 was pregnant.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231, CrimsonReality, calistra, and jracklesfan77 for their reviews and support!


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Hit A Sista Back," "Meow," "…And Jesus Brought A Casserole," and "The Berrisford Agenda."

One month later…

494 marched through the halls, relieved. _That mission was so simple, an X7 could have done it. Scope out the target, target his ass, bullet to the brain, all done in two days._ He couldn't help smirking to himself. _And they thought that it would take three! It looks like I haven't lost my touch, after all._ He looked up and saw 511 approaching him. "Hey, buddy. How have things been for the last couple of days?"

"Well, the usual suspects are going to be disappointed that you're back a day early," 511 said with a laugh. "Be especially careful for 908. Director Renfro called 908 into her office this morning and she apparently told 908 that it had been decided that she was too 'psychologically unstable' to participate in the breeding program, so 908's pretty pissed off about that."

"Well, Director Renfro was probably right on the money," 494 said. "Anything else?"

"New pairings were listed today," 511 told him. He sighed in relief. "I wasn't among them. 532 and 107 were, though. 532 got paired with a guy from Unit 7 and 107 got paired with some chick from Wyoming."

"Did I get on the list?" 494 asked. 511 opened his mouth to answer, but a tech came running up to them.

"X5-494? Director Renfro wants to see you in her office immediately," he said.

"I'll be right there," 494 said. He turned back to 511. "Fill me in on the rest when I get back from the office, okay?"

"Will do," 511 said. He gave 494 a salute.

494 returned the salute and then turned and walked off in the direction of Renfro's office. He got there quickly and was let inside and stood at attention. "X5-494 reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"At ease, 494," Renfro said. "I'm glad that I was able to catch you when you came in. Congratulations on completing your assignment as efficiently as you did. It's nice to see that your skills still remain at such a high level."

"Thank you, ma'am," 494 said.

"I wanted to let you know that your debriefing for this mission has been postponed to tomorrow morning at 0800," Renfro said. "It will still be taking place in room 10. The reason that it has been postponed is that you have been assigned to the breeding program. Because you did return early, I have decided that you will be starting tonight as opposed to tomorrow night or the night after. You will report to D Wing, fourth floor, block two, cell number eight. Your breeding partner will be X5-734. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," 494 said.

"Dismissed," Renfro ordered.

494 saluted her and walked out of the office. _Whoa, I got assigned the ex-'09er? Damn, Renfro must have been in a cutesy mood today. This is going to be pretty weird, especially if 734 happened to see 493 at some point when they were both on the Outside._ He bit his lip. _I don't know if I can just jump right in and do this. It's not that it's been six months since I last had sex, it's just…would I be cheating on Rachel? Can you cheat on somebody that's most likely dead? 511 told me what he had heard about Rachel's condition. The chances of somebody waking up from an injury like that are slim to none. Even a transgenic would struggle._ He continued walking until he finally reached 734's cell. He took a deep breath and knocked.

"It's open. You can come in," 734 said.

"Thanks," 494 said. He opened the door and walked inside. "Hi, you must be 734."

"That's me," 734 said. She sounded slightly nervous. "You must be 494."

"Isn't that sweet? Our designations end with the same number," 494 said.

"Yeah, it is cute, isn't it?" 734 said. She sighed. "I guess we should get things going, huh?"

"Nah, it's okay," 494 said. He grinned and pulled 734's desk chair over to near her bunk and sat down in it. "I like to get inside a woman's mind before I get inside her pants."

734 laughed. "Good, because I'm not the type to put out on a first date."

"That's a handy fact to know," 494 said. "So, is there anything else that I need to know about you?"

"Not too much," 734 said. "I can't cook for shit."

"Don't feel bad about that at all," 494 said. "I can't cook either and I had semi-formal training here. I seem to have this ability to make whatever I'm attempting to cook, whether it's soup or dessert or a main course of some kind, you name it, look like vomit. I'm completely serious."

"Yeah, but is it at least edible?" 734 asked. "I can't even get my cooking up to that level."

"I don't know," 494 said. "I didn't want to try to eat it." They both laughed. "What's your favorite sport?"

"To watch or to participate in?" 734 asked.

"Either," 494 said.

"I don't know," 734 said. "I like playing baseball or softball. It's a lot of fun. I played in some kind of summer league for kids the summer when I was twelve and I was in foster care until that fall. I held way back, but it was still a lot of fun." She looked thoughtful. "As for watching, I remember once when I was about sixteen and I was in Mexico temporarily that I would go out and watch these local pro wrestling matches." Her face lit up. "It was amazing! These guys were flying around and flipping and it was just like watching art in motion, you know what I mean?"

"I do," 494 said. "I went on a mission with my two best friends to Mexico once and we caught some pro wrestling during our off hours. It was great."

"Cool," 734 said. "Have you ever pissed off a trainer but not gotten in trouble?"

"All of the time," 494 said cockily. 734 laughed. A guard at the end of the hallway heard her laughter and started to walk in 494 and 734's direction. 494 quickly got out of the chair and moved over so that his body was blocking 734's from the window in the cell door. Sure enough, the guard peeked through that window a few moments later.

"You know, it's bad when a woman is laughing during sex," the guard sneered.

"Hey, she's only laughing because I'm kissing her in a ticklish spot," 494 lied smoothly. "Come on, pal. Don't tell me that you've never been with a girl who was ticklish before."

"Yeah, I have," the guard conceded.

"Good. Can you please let us continue? Come on, man, it's been awhile since I've gotten any on a mission," 494 said.

"Good luck," the guard said, but he walked away back to his original position.

494 breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in the chair. "Close."

"Nice sweet talking," 734 said. "I'm guessing that's how you've gotten out of getting punished when you've pissed off trainers?"

"Sometimes," 494 said. "Though I remember one time my mouth almost got me into major trouble with a trainer and I was almost definitely going to be tossed into the brig for awhile, but then 908, she's probably the most psychotic of all my unit mates and we've got some rather interesting ones in the group, did something to piss off the trainer even more so she was the one who spent a few days in the brig. It was one of the lightest punishments that she's had over the years."

734 raised an eyebrow. "She sounds like a handful."

"You have no idea," 494 said. He shuddered. "I'd go into detail, but we only have so much time."

"I see," 734 said. "My unit—my current unit isn't so bad. A lot of them are kind of nice. Some of them still hesitate to talk to me, but…you know."

"I know," 494 agreed. He saw that 734 was starting to become uncomfortable, so he decided to change the subject. "What's your favorite food?"

"Men, if they aren't thinking about sex…" 734 deadpanned.

494 grinned. "Hey, I literally just got back from a quick solo mission. Literally, the last couple of hours for me went like this: relieved some scumbag executive of the top part of his head, call back to base, told to drive back to the rendezvous point immediately, picked up at said rendezvous point and taken back here, a few quick words with my 2IC, then over to Director Renfro's office where I was told to haul ass over here. I didn't have time to eat dinner today."

"Oh," 734 said. "Hold on a second." She got up from her bunk and went over to a drawer in her desk and pulled out something and handed it to 494. "Oatmeal raisin granola bar. One of my unit mates sneaked me in a box of them from her last mission. I love these things."

"Thank you," 494 said. He unwrapped it and took a bite. "These are really good."

"Yeah, they are," 734 agreed. "I remember I used to snack on these a lot a few years ago when I was living in Nebraska and I had this really crummy job and my boss would keep me at work until these ridiculous hours. I would keep some of these bars in my desk because I knew that at least two or three days out of the week, I wouldn't be getting home in time to make or get dinner at a decent hour. I couldn't stand the guy! Have you ever been on a mission where you were working some place and you hated your boss?"

"No," 494 said. "Sorry. I think the closest that I've ever come to that was one time when I was fifteen and I went on a mission to Switzerland with my unit and we were posing as students on a field trip and we took a tour of this city to both establish cover and do some recon in broad daylight and our tour guide was the biggest pain-in-the-ass. I think I spent half of the tour actually doing what I was supposed to be doing and the other half thinking of ways that I could hurt her and make it look like an accident." He smirked. "121 must have been thinking along the same lines as I was because after the tour guide called her a 'overgrown American idiot' or something like that in French, for the seventh time during the tour, by the way, the guide just happened to trip and twist an ankle and was limping for the rest of the tour. 121 always did have a little bit harder time than I did controlling her temper. Must be the red hair."

734 was a little quiet. "121?"

"Yeah. I'm not the only one in my unit who has or had a twin in your old unit," 494 said. He looked at 734, concerned. "Are you okay?"

734 was silent for a few moments longer before she finally started to speak. "Have you ever done something that you were told was…you were told to do something and you thought that it really was the right thing to do, but it only ended up badly? Have you ever seen somebody or…have you tried to stop a situation that looked as if it was going badly only to find out that you just made it or that you might have made it so much worse?"

494 saw the pain in 734's eyes and he couldn't help feeling sympathetic. _You have no idea._ "Something along those lines," he agreed softly. "Did this happen before you left Wyoming with your old unit, while you were Outside, or after you got back?"

"After I got back," 734 said. She shook her head. "I can't talk about it, 494. Not yet."

"I understand," 494 said. "Believe me, I know what you're going through." He took one of 734's hands in his and gave it a supportive squeeze and he and 734 smiled.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Yeoman1000, calistra, Angel of Darkness231, and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support! calistra, 511 did have some alone time with 121, but as 494 stated in chapter 35, he was only able to get them a few minutes. Thank you all so much again!


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

121 sat down in front of a computer in one of the computer labs one morning a week later. She closed her eyes for a few moments before she opened them again and took a look at the programs that were available for her to use. _I hate morning sickness, I hate morning sickness, I fucking hate morning sickness! Not that I particularly needed another excuse to want to strangle 591, but hey!_

"Awww, is poor 121 not feeling so well?" a patronizing voice said next to her. 121 turned her heard to the left to see a smirking 714 sit down next to her. 786 was sitting down next to 714 on her other side and had a similar look on her own face.

"Yes, it's called morning sickness," 121 said. "It's why I ended up spending all morning in the infirmary yesterday, remember? I just happened to get it a week earlier than when they said it usually happens, that's all. I guess I'm just an overachiever." She smiled sweetly. "Just wait until you start getting it, 714. It's a blast and if you're lucky, you'll get it as badly as I seem to have it."

"But if she actually is lucky, she'll be like me during the first breeding program when I actually conceived successfully," 786 said. "I barely had morning sickness. I was only a little nauseous during the morning for a few weeks. I didn't even have to throw up at all. Not unlike some people who had to spend hours on end in the infirmary because they couldn't stop their—"

"786, I don't think the trainer who's supervising us would appreciate a graphic description on how one of the trainers who was at lineup and roll call yesterday morning sent me to the infirmary," 121 said. She rolled her eyes and opened up a program. _I really should get to work. My hacking skills definitely could use work. I still don't know how I managed to get the score that I did when I took that exam._ She got down to business.

"You know, if you use an imbedded loop over here instead…" 714 started to say condescendingly.

121 rolled her eyes. "714, I might not be the computer specialist in our unit the way that you are, but I am not a complete idiot around these things either. If you would actually like to offer some help instead of just being you, then I'll be more than happy to accept it. If not, then please shut the hell up." She shook her head and went back to what she had been doing. _Somebody needs to put a muzzle on her sometimes. It could be worse. At least they sent 908 out yesterday to Rome to assassinate some jerk mole of ours in the Italian government so I don't have to worry about her for the next couple of weeks._

"Excuse me? Is anybody sitting here?" 121 looked over and saw another female X5 standing at the computer next to her.

"No, you can sit there," 121 said.

"Thank you," the young woman said. She sat down, paused, and then turned to 121 and extended her hand. "I'm 734."

"I'm 121," 121 said.

"Oh," 734 said as she sat down. She looked at 121 for a few moments before she shook her head. "I'm sorry. You must think that I'm a complete moron now."

"That's alright," 786 said. "We thought that you were a complete moron long before you just stared at 121 like an idiot. I mean, you are or were an '09er after all. Even if you did get successfully reindoc-ed, the fact that you went over that fence in Wyoming all those years ago shows a complete lack of judgment and hey, if that…"

"Shut up," 121 said. She smiled at 734. _I should be nice to her. Even if 494 didn't speak kind of highly about her, I'd still be friendly just to piss those two bitches next to me off!_ "It's nice to meet you. 494 said that you were nice. The one sitting next to me is 714 and the one who's sitting next to her who just ran her mouth off is 786. They're also in 494's and my unit." She shrugged. "I'd say that you could blame their behavior on hormones, but they've been like that for as long as I've known them."

734 looked amused. "Yeah, 494 told me a little bit about them." She leaned back in her chair and winced. "That still stings."

"Oh yeah, you were in heat, weren't you?" 121 said, recalling that she hadn't seen 494 around for the past day-and-a-half. "That explains the way that 494 was walking when he met us at the indoor firing range earlier."

"Yeah," 734 said. She blushed. "I didn't think that I would be that rough with him. I've been with ordinaries when I've been in heat twice and that never happened. I've never…lost control I guess would be the best way to describe what happened. One moment I'm practically crawling the walls in my cell and the next thing that I was completely aware of was waking up in my bunk with 494 earlier this morning. I only remember vague bits and pieces of what happened in between." She blushed again.

"Now, now, there's no need to be shy," another female X5 said from behind 121 and 734. "Just because you've spent half of your life on the Outside away from home is no excuse to be such a naïve little girl, 734. Pick up those eyes and take it like a real woman and not like the damn '09er that you are."

121 turned around in her chair. "I don't know who the hell you are, but do us all a favor and shove it, okay? 734 isn't an '09er anymore. She's been through reindoc so as far as I'm concerned, she's paid her dues and she's one of us. End of story."

"End of story?" the other woman said skeptically. "Funny you should be the one sticking up for her, 121. Then again, maybe it isn't surprising after all."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," 121 said. "I know. I've heard it all before and let me remind you that I went through six months of Psy Ops and yet I still managed to become one of the best X5s here in Seattle. How about you take a page out of my book and shut up and work your ass off. Sound good?" She turned back around and sighed irritably as she typed some commands on the keyboard. "It's been more than eleven years and yet some of them still won't let it go."

"Thanks for standing up for me like that," 734 said.

"No problem," 121 said. "I meant every word that I told that idiot. You have paid your dues. 494 also spoke very well of you and I trust his judgment." She snorted. "If I ever meet one of your former teammates, I'll probably flip them off and then kick their asses because to be honest, 734, I think that they deserve every bit of it."

"I bet you couldn't kick 599's ass," 734 said. 121 raised an eyebrow and 734 shrugged. "Hand-to-hand was one of his specialties. When we es—went A.W.O.L. back in March of '09, the only X5 that beat him occasionally or even come close to defeating him in a straight fight like that was 452."

"Well, if that was one of his specialties, then I'd say you might be right," 121 conceded reluctantly. "I'm pretty good at it myself, but it's not one of the things that I'm best at."

734 nodded. "Same with me, though I've improved a lot since I came back home. If there's anything that needs to be done that involves any kind of acrobatics, then I'm your go-to girl. I think they must have used some DNA from a gymnast in me because I'm really flexible."

"I bet 494 must have just _loved_ that," 714 said cattily. A few of the other women in the room giggled.

"Since you're in the same unit, why don't you ask him that yourself later?" 734 said calmly. 714 made a face and turned back to her computer.

"I guess that technically I should apologize for her since she is in my unit," 121 said hesitantly. She shook her head. "But why start apologizing for her behavior now?"

"Good question," 734 said. She turned back to her computer screen and started to get back to work, but she seemed distracted.

"Are you okay, 734?" 121 asked. "Are you letting 714 and the others' crap getting to you?"

"Uh-uh," 734 said. "It's not that, honest." She sighed. "Did you happen to get a good whiff of me?"

"No," 121 said. She sniffed and realized what 734 had been talking about. "You and 494 were successful?"

"Yeah, we were," 734 said. "It must have happened while I was in heat because 494 and I only noticed it this morning after it was over. It'll be a little while still before the doctors find out about it because my next pregnancy test isn't scheduled for another five days from now, but…we did it. We successfully completed this mission."

121 didn't quite know what to say. _What am I supposed to tell her? That when I realized that 591 had gotten me pregnant, that I was in an almost complete state of shock and then I ended up breaking down on 511's shoulder that night because I was so upset that I had let somebody other than him get me pregnant? I don't exactly have any fun and happy memories to draw from here._ "Well…it could be worse. You could have had my breeding partner."

734 laughed a little. "494 told me about him. At least 494 wasn't an asshole. Actually, he was pretty gentlemanly about the whole thing."

"494? A gentleman and not an asshole?" 786 said incredulously.

"Yes," 734 said. She put on a snobby voice. "He was actually a charming young man with all of the qualities a girl could ask for in a breeding partner." She and 121 both started to giggle.

"Oh, brother," 786 said.

"Yeah, it really could be worse, 734," 121 said. She gestured towards 786. "You could be like the Queen of All Whores over there and not know exactly who the father is. It could be her breeding partner, it could be at least three or four guys in our unit, it could be somebody from Unit 1…how many guys did you sleep with the night that you conceived, 786?"

"That is none of your business, 121," 786 said. She rolled her eyes and focused her attention on her computer. 121 just gave 734 a knowing look, smiled, and went back to her own work.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Angel of Darkness231, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Two weeks later…

121 lay back on the infirmary bed and closed her eyes. _I hate this shit. I can't believe that my stupid ass morning sickness got me another morning-long at least stay here. I mean, this is only the…fourth, no, the fifth time that it's been this bad. Not that it's a whole lot better the rest of the time. Am I the only X-series in this stupid program that's having this hard of a time with the morning sickness? There's no way._

"Want some company?" 121 opened her eyes and saw 494 lying down on the bed next to her, grinning.

"Not if it's you," 121 joked. She turned her head and blinked when she saw the black eye that 494 sported. "What the hell happened to you, 494?"

494 shrugged. "Today happened to be the one out of five times when 511 beat me sparring." He gestured to his heavily wrapped right ankle. "I'm waiting for the X-rays on my ankle to come back. I talked the nurse on duty into letting me visit you in the mean time."

"I should be let out soon," 121 said. "The nausea is easing up. It's not nearly as bad as it was maybe half an hour ago." She looked over at 494's pants and then grinned wickedly. "I'm glad that you changed your pants before 511 beat the shit out of you."

"Did I thank you for throwing up all over me during lineup this morning?" 494 said.

"Nope," 121 said. "Oh, and don't forget to thank 511 for jumping out of the way in time so that he wouldn't get hit by what had been yesterday's lunch and dinner."

"How many times have you been in here because of your pregnancy, 121?" 494 said, grinning.

121 flipped him off. "This is the fifth time for morning sickness, so seven counting the two times that I fainted last week. One more trip here and then I'll be averaging one for every week that I've been pregnant. But according to the doctors, the fetus is as healthy as can be so I've got to suck it up and take it like the soldier that I am. I hope this stops soon. I hate being sick."

"So do I," 494 said. "You've been an even bigger bitch than normal."

"You really do like to live on the edge, don't you?" 121 observed.

"Hell yeah," 494 said. "It's the only way. Besides, you're one to talk."

"One stunt and he won't let it go," 121 said. "May I remind you that was the only way that the objective could have been accomplished on the mission and if that happened to be the spectacular way and if I happened to enjoy completing it, then that's just how it goes. Besides, I'm not a total adrenaline junkie."

"True," 494 said. "734 told me once that at least two of her former unit mates were worse?"

121 raised an eyebrow. "Two of the '09ers were even bigger thrill seekers? As much as they could have been as children?"

"Apparently so," 494 said.

"Hmm," 121 said. She shrugged. "If that's true, then I'm surprised that those two idiots haven't gotten themselves caught. That one time when I had to pull that stunt on the mission down in Florida there was no margin of error and I barely managed to pull it off. Can you imagine what would have happened if one of those half-trained morons tried to do it?"

"Excuse me, 494?" a doctor said. "We've just gotten the X-rays back and it's only a sprain. Come back here in two days and we'll re-evaluate you."

"Yes, sir," 494 said. He got up off of his bed and accepted the crutched that the doctor gave him.

"121, if you're feeling up to it, you may leave as well," the doctor added.

"Thank you, sir. I am feeling better now," 121 said. She got up off of her bed and she and 494 left the infirmary together. "I must be getting better. I think that I'm actually getting hungry."

"For the crap that we eat? Maybe I should drag your ass back to the infirmary," 494 said.

121 laughed. "Yeah, right. I'm definitely not going back there today. You, on the other hand, might get sent back there when you're not able to see because of the second black eye. I might be pregnant, but I won't hesitate to punch you if you don't stop acting like an ass."

"I'll keep that in mind," 494 said. "What's on your schedule for the rest of today?"

"I've got to cover a group of X9s in the classroom from 1330 until 1530," 121 said. "I have to help the little guys learn algebra. After those two hours, I've actually got a little bit of extra time before I have that special physical activities class that they set up for breeding program females from 1600 until 1800, then dinner, and then I've got an hour in Computer Lab C starting at 1900 and that's it for me for the day." 121 shrugged. "Same old stuff that I've been doing since I got put into the program. It's boring."

"Sounds like it," 494 agreed. He stopped and frowned when he saw 849 standing near a bulletin board. "Hey, 849, is something wrong?"

849 nodded. She looked unusually nervous for her. "Yeah. 121, please don't kill me."

"Why would I want to kill you?" 121 said, confused.

"You will, trust me," 849 said. She pointed to the bulletin board.

121 looked still gave 849 a puzzled look. _What the…_ It suddenly hit her what 849 had been referring to. _Hell fucking no! There's no way that bitch Renfro did what I'm thinking that she did!_ She turned to face the board and looked up at the list of new X5 breeding program pairs that was pinned to it. Three rows down, she saw it and her jaw dropped. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "I won't kill anybody. I will not strangle or mutilate a single fucking person."

"What's with her?" 494 said.

"I got paired up with 511 for the breeding program," 849 said shakily.

"Oh, shit," 494 said. "Does 511 know?"

"Probably not," 849 said. "I happened to be walking by just as a lab tech was putting up the lists."

"Oh," 494 said. He shook his head. "Damn, Director Renfro must have been in a sadistic mood today."

"Yeah, if she knew that we were friends," 121 said. "I don't know how she could know, though."

849 looked at 121 nervously. "We are still friends, right, 121?"

121 took another deep breath to calm herself down. "Yeah. We're still friends, but that doesn't mean that…"

"…it doesn't still get you?" 849 finished. She managed a smile. "If it makes you feel any better, if Director Renfro did want to be sadistic, then she would have paired 511 and I for the program last week when I was in heat. I promise to do my best to get knocked up before I go into heat again. I know how you and 511 feel about that subject."

"Thank you," 121 said. "That does mean a lot." She managed a smile and then she and 494 walked off in one direction while 849 continued off in another. _It honestly does mean a lot to me, but the fact still stands that somebody else is going to have my boyfriend's baby!_

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Angel of Darkness231, and calistra for their reviews and support!


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the fic belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: At this point in the fic, it's at the approximately the same point in time as some of the earlier chapters of the next fic in this AU series, "Together" (which was actually the first fic that I wrote). This chapter takes place immediately before chapter 5 of "Together". Spoiler-ish stuff for "Designate This."

"I think 228 is getting back from her mission in a few days, right?" 494 said to 121 as they left the cafeteria after lunch several days later.

121 nodded. "Yeah. It's about time."

"She's sure missed out on a lot," 511 said dryly.

"Well, she's going to have a blast once she gets back," 494 said. "I wonder how soon after she gets back is she going to get put into the breeding program. Is she going to get thrown right into the mix just like I did or are they going to hold off for a day?" He frowned. "Why did they just shove me right in like they did?" He snapped his fingers. "Oh, right, now I remember. It's because they finally realized how much my genes kick ass and they couldn't wait to put them to good use."

"Here's hoping that when your and 734's offspring is born that it doesn't inherit your ego," 121 said. "Manticore couldn't…actually they really couldn't handle two of you now that I think about it."

"Have I ever mentioned how sarcastic you are, 121?" 494 asked.

"Only about ten million times," 121 said. "Keep going. I never get tired of it."

"No problem. You have got to be the biggest sarcastic b—"

"You can stop now," 121 said.

494 pretended to be insulted. "But I thought that you said that you never got tired of this, 121?"

"Call it a brief moment of insanity," 121 said.

"How about I call it—" 494 started to say. He stopped mid-sentence and laughed when he saw the annoyed look on 121's face. "Okay, okay, I'll give it a rest."

"Thank you," 121 said. She looked curiously at the small group that was gathered around a nearby bulletin board. "I'll go see if 967 was finally put into the program."

"Be my guest," 494 said. He turned to 511. "Speaking of which, how is it going with 849? Is she pregnant yet?"

511 shook her head. "I couldn't smell anything on her last night and if we conceived successfully then, she hasn't told me yet. I hope it happens soon because I don't know if I can take much more of this. It shouldn't be too much longer."

"Keep the faith, buddy," 494 said. "Hopefully it'll just be another night or two that you'll have to sleep together and then you and 121 can go back to as close to or better than normal as you guys can get."

"I know," 511 said. "I will." They looked up and saw a snickering 121 heading back towards them. 511 looked at her suspiciously. "What did you do, 121?"

"I didn't do anything," 121 said honestly. She turned to face 494 and smiled sweetly. "Mr. My-Genes-Kick-Ass? You're needed again."

"Huh?" 494 said, confused. "Why would they put me back into the program? I already knocked up 734." He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you look so damn happy? Are your hormones screwing with you?"

"No more so than they have been for the last almost nine weeks," 121 said. She grinned.

"Yeah…" 494 said slowly. He made his way over to the board and looked at it. _X5s by males…X5-494 and…_ His jaw dropped. _Oh, for crying out loud! Renfro can't be serious about this._ He stepped to the side and started to bang his head against the wall.

"Something wrong, 494?" 121 said innocently. She laughed when 494 flipped her off. "Sucks to be you."

"What is going on?" 511 asked, confused. "Did they decide to let 908 into the program after all and paired her up with you, 494?"

"I'd say I wish, but I'm still pretty sure that the hand that I was just dealt is still a lot better than that," 494 said. He sighed. "I got paired up with 452."

"What the fuck?" 511 said. "452? I didn't think that she was completely through with Psy Ops and reindoc yet, not to mention them trying to catch her up on all the crap that she missed."

"I haven't heard that she was done with that shit either," 494 said. "I have no clue and I don't care. All I know is that I've got to go to 452's cell tonight and copulate with her like a good little boy." He rolled his eyes. "Great, lucky me."

"Just remember, it could be worse," 121 said. "Or can it?"

"It really warms my heart to see how much pleasure that you're getting out of my suffering," 494 said.

121 smiled cheerfully. "What can I say?" Her expression grew concerned. "Seriously, 494, are you okay with this?"

"Not really, but I don't have a choice," 494 said. He put a cocky grin on his face. "I do believe, however, that the correct question is whether or not 452 can handle me?"

"That's our 494," 121 said. "You boys go and have fun playing with knives and machetes and all that fun stuff. I've got some X9s that need to learn chemistry. I'll see you guys at dinner." She waved to them and walked away.

"I love edge weapons," 511 said. "I wonder if I was a swordfighter in sixteenth or seventeenth century Europe in a previous life." He glanced at 494 out of the corner of his eye. "No, I was not the village idiot. I know exactly what you were going to say."

494 shook his head in mock disappointment. "Damn. Sometimes having a friend that knows how you think is a pain-in-the-ass."

"I guess my woman was right. It does suck to be you," 511 said as they entered the training room for their lesson. They both laughed.

"Looks like a mixed group today," 494 observed as he saw the various X5s and X6s that were already in the room. He turned when the door opened again and grinned. "Hey, 941!"

"Hey," 941 said. He walked up to 494 and 511. "Good to see you guys. I didn't know that we'd be in this class together today."

"Could you sound any smarter?" a voice sneered from behind them.

941 briefly closed his eyes before he turned around. "Maybe not, 224, but in any case it's none of your business how I sound so long as it doesn't interfere with any mission or activity that I am required to perform and since class hasn't begun yet and isn't scheduled to begin for another—" 941 checked his watch. "—two minutes, then there was no need for you to but in and speak up."

"Oh, really?" 224 said skeptically. He turned around and grinned evilly. "Look who also decided to show up. It's the Ice Queen herself."

"It wouldn't be a party without me," 405 deadpanned. "Hey, 941."

"It's good to see you, 405," 941 said. He looked towards the entrance. "115, 367, and 773 aren't scheduled to have this class too?"

"No," 405 admitted. "Hey, I don't see 252 or 312 or any of the rest of your people here."

"My, what scintillating conversation," 224 said.

"224, shut up. You're annoying everybody," 494 said.

"Make me," 224 said.

"Glad to. I'm ordering you to shut your mouth," 494 said cheerfully. That got snickers from 511 and 941 and a smirk from 405. 224 glared at all four of them before he turned around and stalked off to the other side of the room. "That was fun."

"I wish that I could do that," 941 said.

"Maybe you'll outrank his sorry ass one of these days," 405 said.

"I can see that 224 is sure winning this month's popularity contest," 511 remarked.

"And he won last month's and the month before that, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera," 494 said.

941 frowned. "Are you okay, 494?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later," 494 said. 941 still gave him a puzzled look, so 494 just put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about me, kid. I'm fine." He smiled. "It's nothing a good knife fight with somebody won't cure." They suddenly looked towards the door and then the four of them, as well as the other X5s and X6s in the room, formed a line and stood at attention as a trainer entered. _I hope a good knife fight will cure it. Besides, being paired up with 452 might not be so bad. I just need to keep an open mind. That's all._

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Angel of Darkness231 and to calistra for their reviews and support!


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Designate This."

494 lay back on his bunk for several moments in the dark late the next night before he sighed irritably and got up and left his cell. He walked through the facility until he reached the library. He went inside and to his surprise saw 849 sitting at a table. He took a seat next to her. "How's it going?"

"I don't know, it's kind of up in the air at this point," 849 said. "511 did get me pregnant last night so we didn't copulate tonight, but then again I _am_ pregnant by the boyfriend of one of my best friends. I should just be happy at this point that 121 and I are still friends." She sighed. "I'm sorry that I'm dumping all of this on you, 494."

"It's okay. I don't mind at all," 494 said. "It helps me take my mind off of my night."

"How has it gone so far?" 849 asked. "I didn't get a chance to ask you about it earlier today."

"Oh, the first night was a blast," 494 said sarcastically. "She didn't have a clue that she'd even been put into the breeding program so when I told her what was going on, she kicked me across the cell. I left her alone for a few minutes, but I tried every so often to get her to change her mind. To say the least, she refused." He paused thoughtfully. "I think she threatened to harm my genitals at least five times over the length of my stay in her cell last night."

"Yikes," 849 said. "I've got to give her some credit, though, for not having the life sucked out of her so far when she's been in Psy Ops."

"I don't know about that. I think that having a little of that spunk taken out of her might be doing the whole world a favor," 494 countered.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that tonight went about as well," 849 said.

"You could say that," 494 said.

"I'd have to agree."

494 looked up at the person that had just spoken. _Just what I needed tonight. Again._

* * *

_494 had just reached his cell when he stopped and shook his head. "Damn watch." He sighed and turned around and headed back towards 452's cell. He was getting close when he heard 452—Max as she'd ever-so-graciously told him earlier—'s voice again._

"_We've got one piece of the puzzle down. Now we've got to find the rest and put 'em together." There was a brief pause. "Do you know if Zack's cell has security cameras in it?"_

Zack? Who the…oh yeah, I heard that was the name that 599 has been going by, _494 recalled._

"_I'm not sure. The hallways in that wing do, but as far as the individual rooms? I don't know yet. Communicating with him is going to be the trickiest part of the whole business. I have a feeling that once we establish communication, the actual getting you two out of Manticore again will be easier."_

_494 blinked in shock._ 405? What is she doing in Max's cell and why the fuck would she be wanting to help Max and 599 escape? I know that girl isn't stupid, so what the hell is going on here? _He mentally shook his head and tried to pay attention to Max's and 405's conversation again._

"…_he's in a situation where if what he's doing backfires, not only would he be responsible for your possible death or extended vacation in Psy Ops, but he'd also be responsible for the loss of hundreds, maybe even thousands of lives."_

"_You're right," Max said. "You know, that sounds like something that would come right out of Zack's mouth. You're a lot like him."_

"_Maybe it's a C.O. thing."_

And maybe I should find out what is going on. _494 stepped up to the open door of Max's cell and stood there arrogantly. "Am I interrupting something, ladies?"_

* * *

"Did anybody ever tell you that it was rude to eavesdrop on somebody?" 494 said. 

"That's the pot calling the kettle black if I've ever heard it," she replied.

849 looked back and forth between 405 and 494. "Did I miss something?"

"You missed something, all right," 494 said dryly. "Didn't she, 405?"

"Gee, I thought that we were on a first name basis now, _Alec,_" she said.

* * *

"_I left my watch in here. Funny to find you in here, 405."_

"_We're old friends. What do you want, 494?"_

"_Alec. I named him Alec."_

* * *

"Alec?" 849 repeated. 

"According to 452—excuse me, _Max_—that would be my name," Alec admitted. "Did she give you your name too, sweetheart, or did you actually come up with it on your own?" He ignored the death glare that 405 was giving him.

"She has a name too?" 849 said.

"Oh yeah," 494 said.

* * *

"_Hey, cool your jets, 405."_

"_The name's Becky."_

* * *


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Designate This."

Two days later...

121 pretended to be caring about what the trainer was lecturing her and the other women in the room on. _Blah, blah, blah. I think that we all have a pretty good idea as to what is going on with Outside politics these days and how it could affect us and what we could be potentially be called upon to do to deal with it…come on! Talk about something interesting for once in your life._

"What do you think?" 849 asked from where she sat next to 121. "Could he put somebody to sleep faster than Trainer Dickinson when he taught the classroom portions of Advanced Close Quarters Combat or not?"

"It's a toss up," 121 said. They fell into an uncomfortable silence. "Do you have a definite ETA for 228 yet?"

"Yeah, I got it today," 849 said. "She's scheduled to arrive back here at approximately 1100 hours tomorrow morning. It's about time."

121 nodded. "I bet." They were quiet again as they listened to the trainer talk. "So, how has everybody else in your unit been?"

"The usual," 849 said. "All of the females in my unit that are currently present are now…" She trailed off and looked down uncomfortably. "Sorry."

"Nothing for you to be sorry about," 121 said. "There are plenty of people who should be sorry about our current situation and you're not one of them." _Director Renfro, whoever else it was that paired us up for the breeding program, 591 just for the hell of it…_ "I wish that there was something that either one of us could do about it. That's the part that annoys me the most about the whole thing."

"You and me both," 849 agreed. She managed a smile. "You should have been at our table at meals to listen to 142 complain about her breeding partner a few weeks ago." She put on a slightly whiny voice. "'Have I ever told you guys about how 375 likes to make the most disgusting grunt when we were in the middle of copulating? It turns me off! And did I mention how he makes the dumbest face when he gets into my cell? Who does this guy think he is, a caveman?'" She and 121 giggled softly. "You would have loved it. I can imagine you verbally cutting 142 down to size."

"I bet I would have," 121 agreed. "Not to mention 494. He's got a talent for doing that without the other person realizing that they're being made to look even more like an idiot. The best is when he and 511…" She saw the discomfort in 849's eyes and trailed off, the good mood that had finally developed gone. "Well, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know," 849 said.

"X5-121? You may be excused for your checkup now," the trainer said.

"Yes, sir," 121 said. She saluted the trainer and stood up. "I'll see you around, 849."

849 nodded. "See you later, 121."

121 left the room and walked off towards the infirmary. _I fucking hate this! 849 is my friend and our friendship is a mess. Will it ever be back to normal? I know that they haven't slept with each other since…_ She sighed and mentally shook her head. _Damn, since they had to pair up 511 and myself with other X5s, why couldn't they have done what they did with me and put him together with somebody random? I would even have felt better if he'd been placed with 786 or 714! I hate the two of them already so it wouldn't have been too much of a stretch or an excuse to hate them even more for that. No, it has to be one of the few friends that I have that's going to be the one that's pregnant with the child of the man that I'm all but mated with._ She reached the infirmary and went inside. She walked through until she reached another door and knocked. "X5-121 reporting for my checkup as ordered, sir."

"Come on in." 121 opened the door and entered an examination room. The doctor that had spoken to her looked up from the folder that he was holding. "Right on time." He gestured to the hospital gown that was folded up on a nearby chair. "Please change into that and then lay down on the table. We'll begin as soon as you are ready."

"Yes, sir," 121 said. She quickly changed and lay down on the examination table. The doctor picked something off of the counter and approached her.

"Please lift up your gown and stare straight up," he said. 121 did as he asked, but looked out of the corners of her eyes while he strapped something around her abdomen and then he hooked a set of headphones to a machine. He flipped a switch on it and sat back.

_I wonder what he's listening to,_ 121 thought. _He's never done this before at any of the previous checkups._ She saw the doctor reach for a clipboard when the headphones were accidentally yanked out of the jack and an unmistakable sound reached 121's ears. The doctor quickly flipped the machine's switch again.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. He turned to 121. "I'm sorry, 121, but we're having technical difficulties with the equipment. Please wait while I correct them."

121 kept her face blank and her voice neutral. "Yes, sir."

"Thank you," the doctor said.

121 just continued to stare at the ceiling of the room, stunned. _That was a heartbeat. It was much too rapid to have been mine…oh my God, that was the baby's heartbeat!_ She briefly closed her eyes and willed them not to tear up. _This is real. This is actually happening. I'm honestly going to have a…_ She paused in her thoughts as she recalled the brief sound of the heartbeat before the doctor had shut the machine off. _It was rapid, but there was almost something kind of…overlapping…_ She barely managed to restrain a gasp as realization sank in. _There wasn't one heartbeat, there were two! There are two babies. I'm having twins!_ She heard a faint click and the sound of something being written down.

"Thank you, 121," the doctor said as he unstrapped the device from her abdomen. "Please roll up your gown eyes facing the ceiling and don't move."

"Yes, sir," 121 replied. She did as she was told as the doctor squirted a cold gel onto her stomach and spread it around. She heard another machine being turned on and something else touch her abdomen. It wasn't anything completely new to her, this particular procedure had been done at her last three checkups, but this time she had a hard time keeping her eyes focused on the ceiling above her. _Don't turn and look. Whatever you do, don't try to see what is going on!_ Curiosity, however, got the better of 121 and when she was certain that the doctor's attention was somewhere else, she quickly glanced over and saw an ultrasound machine and sure enough, two fetuses were on the screen, each of whom had a strong heartbeat. She quickly turned away before the doctor could notice and glued her eyes at a point ahead of her. The doctor continued to examine 121 and after several minutes, he told her to get dressed. He made a few more notes on the chart before he once again faced 121, who was fully dressed and standing at attention. He scrutinized her apparently blank expression before a relieved one came across his own face and 121 relaxed the slightest bit. _Phew. He bought it._

"Your nine-week checkup is a success," the doctor said. "Everything is progressing normally, though I have discovered that you are apparently carrying two fetuses instead of only one. That at least partially explains the intensity of the symptoms that you have been experiencing over the past several weeks. Both fetuses are healthy. Continue as you have been and I will see you again at the same time in one week for your next checkup." He looked at the clock in the examination room. "You only have five minutes left in your last activity, so you may return directly to your cell. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." 121 saluted him and turned around and marched out of the room and then out of the infirmary. Her mind was light years away. _Twins. I'm going to be having two babies. I wonder what they're going to be. Boys, girls, a boy and a girl? I can't wait to find out!_ A horrifying truth hit her as she reached her cell. _I won't find out. They wouldn't tell me what the sex or sexes of the babies are. Get fucking real here, 121, they aren't going to let you keep either of them! They are going to take the babies—**my** babies—and you will barely be able to see them and that's if you're lucky! _She opened her cell door and sat down on her bunk, feeling almost numb. _I can't do this! I can't give up my children. There's no way in hell that I'll ever be able to give up my babies!_ She broke down and started to cry, only stopping when she heard a knock on her cell door. She quickly wiped her eyes. "Who is it?"

"It's just me and 494," 511 said. The door opened and the two young men entered the cell, both of them stopping short when they saw the bleak expression on 121's face. "Sweetheart, what happened? Is something wrong?"

"I'm having twins," 121 managed to say before she broke down in tears again. She heard 511 sit down next to her on the bunk and felt him put his arms around her and she buried her head in his shoulder, missing the pained, almost grim looks on the faces of her boyfriend and best friend.

TBC


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: Takes place at the same time as chapters 11a and 11b of "Together."

121 sat down on her bunk the following night and lay down and closed her eyes. _Yeah, another great day. Get up, throw up, breakfast, fight nausea, go through the same old boring shit, blah, blah, blah. _She frowned, though she didn't open her eyes. _Just another day closer to…_ 121's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her cell door and she sat up. "You can enter."

"Thought you might need some cheering up," Alec said as he walked inside.

"Then why the hell are you here?" 121 said sweetly. She paused. "Now that I think about it, that's actually a valid question. What are you doing here? Are you supposed to be banging 452 right about now?"

_Banging…that's actually a pretty good description of what goes on when I have to see Max, though it's her fist or her foot banging on my head rather than what 121 is thinking,_ Alec thought. "I have the night off from procreation duty." He shrugged. "For whatever reason, a tech approached me as I was leaving my class in training room 4 and he informed me that Director Renfro told him to let me know that I did not have to report to 452's cell tonight. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so I didn't ask him and I didn't feel like going to Director Renfro's office to ask her why I didn't have to go over to 452."

"I can't believe that you got a night off," 121 said. "I wish that I had gotten a night off from that oh-so-lovely…" She made quotation marks with her fingers." "…'quality time' with 591." She sighed, took her pillow, and threw it at Alec. "You are one lucky bastard, 494."

Alec grinned and caught the pillow. "Yep, another thing to add to the list. Good looks, intelligence, charm, luck…damn, I really do have it all." He walked over to 121's bunk and put the pillow back down on it before he sat down next to her.

"I already throw up in the mornings. I don't really have any desire to throw up at night as well," 121 remarked. She suddenly got up and walked over to the opposite corner of her cell and just stood there leaning her forehead against the wall.

"Are you okay, 121?" Alec asked, concerned. _This isn't good._ "Is something wrong?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question, 494," 121 said dryly.

"Sorry," Alec said.

"No, it's okay," 121 said. She walked back to her bunk and sat back down next to Alec. "It really is. I've only got about thirty-one weeks or so, give or take a little bit, to get used to you-know-what. It's plenty of time to get myself to the point where it's only going to take a short stay in Psy Ops to calm me down after the twins are born." She managed to put a smile on her face. "Enough about my issues, how was the fun stuff today? Kick anybody's ass?"

"As a matter of fact, I had the pleasure of beating the snot out of 228 this evening," Alec said. "She said hello, I said hello, the trainer told us to get our asses to the mats, and I helped her say hello to the mats several times."

"Smart ass," 121 said.

"Thank you," Alec said.

"You're welcome," 121 said. "I think." She grew quiet before she got up, went over to her desk, and took a magazine out of one of the drawers. "I think I'm going to read for awhile, 494. I hope you don't mind."

Alec picked up on the tense tone that her voice had taken on again, but he stood up and walked back over to the door. "I don't mind. Will you be okay?"

"News flash, 494: I'm a big girl," 121 said.

"News flash, 121: You have a talent for stating the obvious," Alec mimicked. He laughed when 121 flipped him off and left the cell, but the laughter stopped and the grin disappeared from his face as soon as he was back inside his own cell.

* * *

511 sat almost awkwardly in 849's desk chair as he looked out of her cell's small window. "Do you think that if it rains hard enough tonight that me and the other guys in my unit will get out of that training mission that we've got scheduled for immediately after breakfast?" 

"I've lost count of the number of times that I've said this over the past week or so, yet somehow it still bears repeating," 849 said. "You can't make awkward polite conversation if your life depended on it."

"I know," 511 said. "But at least we only have another couple of days of uncomfortable forced talk left to go." He got up and stretched. "It could be worse."

"Like the weather?" 849 said.

"Don't get me started on the weather," 511 said. "I hate weather like this because it means mud city the following day. Why do you think I was hoping that the training mission I'm supposed to have tomorrow morning will be canceled?"

"You didn't have to snap," 849 said.

511 nodded. "I know. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I understand," 849 said. "No big deal. That's what I'm here for. Snapping at, fucking me to knock me up, that's X5-849 in a nutshell for ya."

"I'm sorry," 511 said.

"I know that you're sorry, but…" 849 stopped and took a deep breath. "I know that you're going through some serious shit with 121 and I don't want to take away from that at all, but do you think that this is any easier on me? Huh?"

Involuntarily, 511 began to get defensive. "Did I ever say that I thought this was a picnic for you, 849?"

"You didn't," 849 conceded. "I really…oh, fuck it."

"That pretty much sums up everything that's gone on in the last few months," 511 said.

"It does, doesn't it?" 849 agreed. She started to say something else, but stopped when both she and 511 heard footsteps approaching the cell. She quickly messed up her hair and began to yank on her shirt as if she had just put it on. 511 moved next to her and bent over as if he was re-tying his bootlaces. A few moments later, the footsteps stopped in front of 849's cell and somebody knocked on the door.

"X5-511? Your time is up," the guard said.

"Yes, sir. I'll be just a minute," 511 said. He straightened up and turned back to 849. "I'll be seeing you again tomorrow. Good-bye."

"Good-bye," 849 said.

* * *

Alec lay on his bunk, staring silently at the ceiling. Once the lights had gone out and he heard the guard's footsteps leave the hallway, he sat back up and put his boots back on. He waited a few more moments before he got up and opened his cell door. He looked around to make sure that the coast was clear before he walked over to 511's cell and let himself inside. "Hey." 

"Hey," 511 said. "How did it go with 452 tonight?"

"Had the night off, I don't know, don't ask," Alec said. "How about you and 849 or should I not bother asking?"

"The usual, so don't bother," 511 said. "You look like hell, 494. What's on your mind?"

"A hell of a lot," Alec said. "I was just going to go over to the library and do some thinking. Do you want to go with me?"

511 thought about it for a few moments before he finally shook his head. "No, I don't think I feel like it. I'm more in the mood for working out my frustrations in a physical manner. I was going to go to the gym and go at it for a few rounds on one of the punching bags. Thanks, though."

"Not a problem, buddy," Alec replied. The two of them left the cell together and started to walk through the building before splitting up. Alec waved to 511 before he continued the rest of the way to the library in silence. When he reached it, he sat down at a table and put his head in his hands. He stayed that way for a minute or two before he looked back up, deep in thought.

_This situation with 121 has hit critical mass for sure. She's going to blow and the only question now is exactly when the moment of detonation is going to occur and how messy it's going to be._ He shook his head. _Scratch that, I know it's going to be messy. There's no doubt about that one, she practically said that one herself._

Alec sighed and sat back in the chair. _What options do I have?_ He paused in his thoughts. _Would Max and Zack be willing to let 121 get out with them? No, I know that they wouldn't have a problem letting 121 tag along. They do consider 120 to be their sister and 121 is 120's flesh and blood. Max does seem to be pretty big on the whole family concept._ He managed a slight smile. _I bet that's probably why she hasn't actually strangled me yet!_ He took a look at his watch. _Max and Becky and I usually meet in about half an hour from now. I could bring it up with them tonight and after that will come the hard part: talking 121 into this. I'm definitely going to have to let 511 in on this. If anybody can talk 121 into anything, it's him._ He frowned. _But if 121 does agree to escape, then what will 511 want? He'd want 121 to be happy, that's definitely a given, but would he want to go with her? Damn, this is a lot to chew on, isn't it?_ He twisted his head and caught a glimpse of the butt of the pistol that he'd stuck into one of his pants pockets earlier and laughed a little. _And if all else fails, I could always shoot some sense into everybody!_ A noise caught his attention and he whipped around. _What the hell?_

* * *

511 walked up to the punching bag and without wasting any time, he swung at it, almost smiling at the loud noise that resulted. _This is more like it._ He whirled around and kicked it. _How do you like that, huh? _He continued to take his anger out on the bag. _Oh yeah, does that hurt? If I kinda squint a little, I could almost see Director Renfro's face_— His were abruptly cut off when he heard a noise coming from the gym door. He raced over and tried to open it, but he couldn't. _Why the hell is this thing locked?_

* * *

121 sat straight up in her bunk when she heard the noise coming from her door. After quickly putting her boots back on, she went over to the door and tried to open it. _It shouldn't be locked. Why would they lock the damn doors now?_ As she tried yanking on it, her nose picked up on something and she started to panic. _Smoke? Oh, shit! Come on, let us out so we can help get this under control! Come on!_ But to her horror, the door didn't budge.

* * *

Alec frowned when he smelled the smoke. _Damnit, this is not good._ He went to the door and tried to open it, but was unsuccessful no matter how hard he pulled on it. _Fuck! The doors should be opening by now to let us out! It's like—do they even want us to get to safety?_ He felt horrified. _No way, that can't be possible! _He took a deep breath. _Whether it's possible or not, you've got to assume the worst and that it is. You have to get the hell out of here now._

He withdrew his gun, but just a quickly put it back in his pocket. _No, bullets won't work on this model of lock. What would work? Let's see, I don't have a laptop or the correct code-breaking program to run, so what the hell can I do?_ He bit his lip. _You know, not panicking would help. Think of something. You've always been able to think of something._

* * *

121 clenched and unclenched her fists, desperately trying to get her thoughts together. _Okay, the door's locked and there's a fire somewhere in the building. No big deal, right? If the door remains locked, then the guards must have the situation contained. Piece of cake. Get back to bed, you idiot._ She started to take a step back towards her bunk but froze when she heard the muffled but still unmistakable sound of an explosion and gripped the door again. _Contained my ass!_

"You are so going to open and you're going to do that right now," 121 hissed at the door. It still didn't budge and 121 started to panic once more. _Shit! How am I going to get out? _She took a deep breath and continued to work on the door, a new determination filling her. _I've got to get myself and my babies to safety. They won't get hurt!_ She listened at the sounds around her and frowned when she realized that she couldn't hear 511 or Alec in their cells. _They better be away from what's happening. They better be okay!_

* * *

511 looked desperately around the gym. _With all of the equipment around here, there has to be something that I can use on the damn door!_ He quickly analyzed his options and moved over to one of the pieces of equipment when he suddenly heard the lock release. Without wasting a second he immediately went over to the door and threw it open and started to head back in the direction of his cell, only to barely be able to stay on his feet when an explosion nearby shook the hallway. He felt the heat and winced and quickly looked around. _It came from somewhere up ahead, right in the middle of my planned route back to our cells. Damn, I'm cut off!_

"Sir, what should we do?" a voice said. 511 turned around and saw a mixed group of other X-series standing behind him, mostly X6s and X8s and a few X3s.

511 took a deep breath, knowing what he had to do. "Follow me. We need to get out of the building and away from the facility as soon as possible." He motioned to them and they took off down another hallway.

* * *

121 grinned when the door to her cell finally opened and she took off, racing through the halls as quickly as she could. _Come on, almost there…move it, you morons!_ She finally managed to get to a door and followed some other transgenics out. She had barely taken two steps outside when she dropped down to the ground, covering her head. _Oh, that better not be who I think it is!_

* * *

Alec ducked when he heard the bullets being fired and quickly glanced in the direction of the perimeter fence and zoomed in. _Yep, it's the X7s alright. Poor deluded clones must not have a clue._ He drew his own gun and began to fire on them as he advanced quickly towards the fence only to yell in pain and stumble as a bullet hit him…

* * *

511 quickly made some gestures to his group and a few of them withdrew weapons and began to fire back at the X7s. He made another gesture and most of the rest of the unarmed X-series' with him took off towards the fence, easily leaping or climbing over it. He quickly took a look around and he felt his heart sink. _I can't see them anywhere. 121, 494, where the hell are you guys?_ He heard the sound of another explosion close by and he knew that he could no longer wait. He made another gesture towards the armed transgenics and then they took off towards the fence and soared over it. _I'll find you guys. I swear._

* * *

121 waited for the bullets to stop firing in her direction before she got up, the fire in her eyes almost rivaling the one behind her. _Nobody, and you'd better believe it when I say **nobody**, tries to hurt my children! Damnit, I wish I had a gun._ She glanced ahead and waited for another moment before she suddenly blurred ahead and cleared the fence. She continued to run ahead for several minutes before she stopped and looked around. She bit her lip when she realized the she couldn't see 511 or Alec anywhere near her. _Where are they? I hope that they got out of there. They better—_

"Oh, great. You?"

Strangely, 121 felt like laughing. _Oh, it really figures, doesn't it? I can't find either my boyfriend or my best friend around and I end up with her instead._ She turned around to see 786 standing there. "Considering that our cells were right next to each other, 786, I don't think that you should be all that surprised."

"Please," 786 said. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," 121 said. She took a deep breath. "That doesn't matter. What we need to do now is find a place to crash for the night and then we need to get money and clothes and whatever other necessities that we'll need."

"In your dreams," 786 said. "I'm out of here."

"Right now, it will be better for us if we stick together and you know it," 121 said.

"Not really," 786 said. She started to leave, but 121 quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.

"If you want to go out there right now and potentially endanger the life of your unborn child, go right ahead," 121 hissed. "I don't give a rat's ass what you think of me, but you know as well as I do that the best thing for us and for our children is that we work together for the time being. Once we get ourselves set, then we can split up but until then, we both need to suck it up. Am I making myself clear?"

786 glared at 121 for several more moments before she finally nodded. "For the record, I still think you're a goddamn '09er twin loser."

"And for the record, I still think that you're a complete skank whore bitch," 121 replied almost cheerfully. "But all of that aside, we need to get going."

"There should be a road about…two miles or so southwest of our current position," 786 said, pointing off in that direction. "We should be able to hitchhike or even steal a ride."

"And then we'll take it from there," 121 agreed. "Let's move out." She led 786 in the direction of the road, trying to keep her emotions under control. _Later. I can't let her see a damn thing._

* * *

Alec gritted his teeth as he raised his gun and fired back at the X7s. He quickly glanced around the area. "511? 121? Where are you guys?" When he had neither seen them nor heard a reply, he bit his lip. _It's such a zoo around here, it'll take me awhile to find them and I don't have the time! Damn._ He put on as much speed as he could and ran up to and leaped over the fence. He continued running until the pain in his leg finally was too much and he stopped to catch his breath. He heard two other people stop near him and he looked and felt his heart sink when he saw that neither of them were 511 or 121. 

"What happened, sir? What's going on?" the tall blond girl to Alec's left asked in a clearly panicked voice. Alec stared at her for a few moments before he finally recognized her.

_She's from the kid's unit…334, that's right._ "I don't know, 334. It took me by as much surprise as it did you."

"Count me in for that one," the young woman on Alec's right said. She shook her head and then winced. "Got anything that I can use for a bandage for the time being? I caught one in the arm on the way out." 334 took a look at the blood that was soaking through the left sleeve of the woman's t-shirt and immediately ran to a nearby tree and threw up.

Alec also took a look at her left arm and nodded, taking off the light hooded sweatshirt that he'd been wearing over his t-shirt. "Yeah, right here." He ripped a sleeve off of the shirt and he pushed up the drenched sleeve and wiped away the blood from the wound. "You know, it's not actually that bad. The bleeding should stop pretty soon." He tore the other sleeve off of the sweatshirt and wrapped it tightly around the injury. He knotted it securely and stepped away. "There you go. That should hold you until we get something real."

"Thank you," she said. She glanced at the rip across the right thigh of Alec's pants. "What about you?"

"I don't think I'm that bad," Alec said. He pushed aside the tear enough for him to see and sighed in relief. "Yeah, it's just a graze. It's not even bleeding that much." He held out his hand to the young woman. "X5-494. The girl who was just throwing up is X6-334."

"X5-601," the woman said. "Don't worry, I'm not pregnant or anything. Tonight was only my first night in the program."

"Gotcha," Alec said.

334 walked back over to Alec and 601, still pale. "I'm sorry about that," she apologized.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to ralph every time we need to change her bandage?"

"I hope not," 334 said. "I have kind of a weak stomach." She shivered and looked around and sighed, obviously disappointed. "I don't see any of my unit mates."

"Me neither," Alec said. "What about you, 601?"

"Not a thing," 601 said a few seconds later.

"What are we going to do?" 334 asked.

Alec looked downwards. _No 511…no 121…not even 849, 228, or 941. What are we going to do is right, 334._ He lifted his head, let his training take over, and replied to 334 in a calm voice. "The first thing that we need to do is break into a store, get some bandages for 601 and myself and some cash, and then we need to find a place where we can get some sleep. Everything else we can figure out in the morning."

"Got it," 601 said.

"Yes, sir," 334 said seriously.

Alec took one final look back towards the direction of the fire before he looked at 334 and 601 again. "Move out."

TBC


	44. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Two days later…

Alec watched 601 disappear down the street through the store window. He heard a noise just behind him and turned around to look at 334. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you don't like her very much, huh?"

"You got that right," 334 said. She blushed. "Sir."

"It's not sir," Alec corrected her. "It's Alec."

"Sorry," 334 apologized again. "I keep forgetting to call you by your name."

"It's okay. It's a tough habit to break," Alec said. The two of them turned around as the salesperson came back to the counter and slid some paperwork across it towards 334, who signed an alias to it and gave it back to the salesperson along with the cash that Alec had given her before they had gone inside the store. The salesperson smiled, took the cash, and then handed 334 the bag that had been sitting on the counter and thanked both her and Alec. The two transgenics smiled and waved and left the store. Once they were outside, Alec turned back to the X6. "Your first cell phone. How does it feel to have one?"

"It's so cool," 334 said. She opened the bag and peeked inside.

"How about we find someplace to sit down before you play with your new toy?" Alec suggested. "There's a burger joint across the street and it's time for us to eat lunch anyway."

"Okay," 334 agreed. The two of them crossed the street and went into the restaurant and sat down at a table. After they had ordered, 334 immediately opened her bag up and took the phone out of its packaging and brought it out and looked it over. "This is really amazing. I've seen and used communications equipment that's either smaller or more complicated than this phone, or even both at the same time, but this is just neat." She giggled. "Command would have had a fit if I had taken whatever comm. device they had given me for a mission and had put a cover like this on it."

"Yeah, I don't think that they were too partial to purple and silver," Alec remarked. They paused while their food was served and they began to eat. "Tastes like cardboard."

"Yeah, it tastes like the one that 111 made last month in cooking when they were teaching us how to make basic popular foods," 334 observed. She looked sad. "I miss him and 941 and 252 and my other unit mates." She blinked, put her hamburger down, and wiped her eyes. "It's weird. I didn't know that you could be this sad when you were separated from them. I mean, I've been on missions before and so have they and I've missed them then, but not nearly as much as I do now."

_I never thought that I would ever think this, but I kind of wish that Max was here right now,_ Alec thought. "Maybe you guys were closer than you realized." He shrugged. "When I was paired up in the breeding program with 452 and when she wasn't threatening physical violence if I tried to touch her, she would go on and on about her own unit mates, how they gave each other names, and how close they were. She said that they were a family and that they were brothers and sisters to each other and all of that. Maybe that's how you and your unit mates are to each other."

"I think so," 334 said. She took a sip of her soda and smiled. "That makes a lot of sense. I like that."

"Glad that you do," Alec said. They finished their lunch, paid for it, and went back outside. He looked around and stretched. "So, what's on the agenda now?"

334 shifted around a little. "Actually, I wanted to go off on my own now." She looked up and saw the somewhat surprised expression on Alec's face. "It's nothing against you, Alec, honest. It's just that…" She looked almost sheepish. "…I've never been on my own before. I wanna be out there and explore and maybe get an actual job and my own place and…"

Alec couldn't help laughing a little bit. "You can't wait for your independence, huh?"

"I am sixteen," 334 said, grinning. "According to every psychology class that I've taken, most ordinary human teenagers crave their independence. I'm a lot more capable than those guys. I can't wait to be out there by myself. It's going to be so much fun!"

"I guess so. Are you sure that this is what you want?" Alec asked. He felt obligated to stick around and keep an eye on her. _I owe it to 941 after everything that he's done for me. Besides, she's not that bad._

"Absolutely," 334 said. She shifted the backpack that she was wearing on her shoulders. "I've got a few changes of clothing, I'm armed with the basics and I can always pick up something else if the situation calls for it, I got my barcode taken care of when you, 601, and I found that tattoo parlor yesterday…" She turned around and lifted her ponytail to show Alec her barcode-free neck. "…I've got my share of the money that you and 601 and I picked up over the past two days, and I've got this." She cheerfully took her cell phone out of its bag before she put it into one of the pockets of her jeans. She crumpled the bag up and tossed it into a nearby trashcan and looked back at Alec almost shyly. "Actually, can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, of course I'll do you a favor," Alec said. "What is it?"

"If you happen to see 941 before I do, can you give him my cell phone number?" 334 asked. "I mean, you won't know if you'll see him first, so can you give it to him anyway? I mean—"

"Relax, don't worry about it," Alec assured her. "Consider it covered."

"Thank you," 334 said gratefully. She tugged on the hem of her pink t-shirt nervously before she grinned up at Alec. "Well…I guess that this is it. Thank you so much for everything from the last two days, Alec."

"It was no problem," Alec said. "Don't forget to get the barcode taken care of when needed and stay under the radar." He couldn't help smiling at 334's eagerness. _Just another teenager ready to go out there and take on the world._

"I won't forget," 334 promised. She impulsively hugged Alec, who after a moment of surprise hugged her back before letting her go. "Good luck finding 511 and 121."

"Good luck finding your guys," Alec said. "Bye."

"Bye," 334 echoed. She waved to Alec before she turned around and walked away. Alec watched her disappear into the crowd before he turned around and walked off in the opposite direction.

_I think I'll actually miss having her around,_ he thought. _Now the question is, what am I going to do? I mean, I know what the game plan is at the present time: find 511 and 121. The question probably should be what am I going to do at the present time?_ He looked around and though of 334 and her enthusiasm and smiled again, his old, familiar cocky smile. "What's a guy to do?"

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality and to calistra for their reviews and support! This is pretty much the end of this fic. There will be a two-part epilogue coming up and then this fic will be done. Thank you all so much again!


	45. Epilogue Part 1

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: I'm going to do something slightly different with the two-part epilogue for the fic by writing it in first person P.O.V. This part takes place several weeks after chapter 44, sometime just before chapter 18 of "Together." Enjoy!

**Epilogue – Part 1: X5-121**

Are there really enough words to describe how I've felt since the scummiest place ever known, or rather not known considering that we were a covert op, to mankind went down in flames? Not really. The last few weeks have been ridiculously chaotic in more ways than you can shake a stick at. Running for our lives away from Manticore, moving from place to place to evade any authorities that could be looking for us…just that could drive a person crazy, never mind somebody with my personal collection of issues.

Where am I now? Far from Seattle, that was for sure. My apartment is in some random shitty suburb in Utah between Salt Lake City and Provo. When I got this apartment a few days ago, the day after I'd given myself a name to stick with, which happens to be Sasha if you were wondering, it was the first time since the fire that I had decided to settle down in one place for more than four days at a stretch. Even when 786 and I finally split up about a week after we got over the perimeter fence, I still felt like I had to keep moving. I just…I couldn't let myself have time to think about 511 or 494. No way.

I got up from where I had been sitting in an armchair in my living room and walked over to the room's window and perched on the ledge and began to cry. You want to know why I didn't want to think about the man that I love with all of my heart and the man who's been my best friend since day one? Because it hurts so damn badly when I do. When I finally stopped and allowed myself to think of them, it felt—and it still feels like—somebody just filleted my heart with a machete. It really started to sink in that I might not see either of them again.

I really do believe in the phrase 'absence makes the hear grow fonder' now. I cry every time I think of 511. Every time I dream of those amazing dark eyes of his, of his wonderful smile and amazing laugh, of his sense of humor, of the way that he would practically anticipate what was on my mind sometimes, of how on those rare chances when we would be on a mission together and we'd have off hours he'd do something really sweet for me like get me flowers or take me out on a real date, just…everything. God, why did this have to happen? Why? I wiped the tears from my eyes. I didn't even realize until now that I had started to cry again. What did I tell you, huh? One thought about the only man that I have and ever will love and both of my eyes turn into Niagara Falls. But damnit, I want him with me!

I sighed and walked back to my chair. What can I do? I've been looking. Every town or city that I get into, I look around for 511. I know that I can only look around for him for so long, though, before my pregnancy will incapacitate me physically to the degree that will disable me from searching, at least temporarily. I do the best that I can, but I can't help feeling that I could do more, which is logically a stupid thing to believe, but if you don't like how I feel about this issue, I know about a million things that you can do with yourself and I'm sure that you can guess what at least some of them are. Look, if you've ever been deeply in love with somebody, you know that logic tends not to be a part about how you feel about your loved one. Trust me.

I heard some noises in the hallway and I waited almost tensely before I relaxed and blew my breath out in disappointment only a moment or so later. Damn, that one guy's walk almost sounded like the one that 494 used as part of his cover on the Mexico mission. As much of a smart ass as 494 is, he's the best friend that anybody could ask for. That's right, I used the present tense. I know 494 is alive and out there somewhere. If there's something that 494 has proved on more than one occasion, it's his ability to get himself out of any situation.

As much as I believe that, I still miss him so much. How could I not? 494 has done so much for me. We went through those hellish six months of Psy Ops together after our twins and their unit bolted from Wyoming back in '09. He was there for me and gave me my sense of control back right before the nightmare that was the first breeding program started. He could always make me laugh no matter how bad of a mood I was in. 494 was my…as '09er-ish as this sounds, he was the closest thing to a brother that I've ever had.

I reached for a magazine that was on my coffee table and I couldn't help laughing to myself. Same as always, Sasha, every time you get upset like this you go for a magazine and read. And I'm the only person in the apartment, too! Yikes, maybe this time on the Outside is starting to make me lose it. I shook my head and opened up the magazine. Get a grip on yourself already. I flipped through the pages until I found an article about a criminal trial. I always liked hearing about that kind of thing. After a few minutes, I started to read out loud a little bit. "…and after cross-examining the defendant, assistant D.A. Julia…" I started to read silently and smiled a little. Julia. That's a beautiful name. If at least one of the babies is a girl, maybe I'll give her that name.

It hit me as quickly as a direct hit from an M-16. "I can name her that," I whispered. If I do have at least one baby girl, I can give her that name. I can give her _a_ name! I can give both of the twins names. I can give them names, I can hold them when they are born, I can do everything! For the first time, it really sunk in that I could actually be a real mother to my unborn children. I wouldn't have to give them up to or for anybody. I wasn't going to watch them for afar at the absolute best, but I was going to be there for them every step of the way as much as a mother usually is. I felt giddiness rise up inside me and I jumped up from my seat.

"I'm going to be a mom," I giggled. I let out a loud whoops and I practically danced around the living room in happiness. "I'm going to be a mom!" I laughed out loud as I sat back down and I tenderly put a hand over my stomach. "Hey there, kids. I'm your mom and I'm not going anywhere." I bit my lip for a moment as I looked back up, but then I looked back down to where my hand still rested. "Okay, right now things aren't so good, but there are a few things that I can promise you. Number one: I will always love you no matter what. Number two: I won't let a single thing happen to either one of you and if something does, there will be hell to pay the likes of which have never been seen yet. Number three: Someday, I will find the man that should have been your daddy and the man who's mommy's best friend in the whole world and everything will be right again. Don't you worry about anything." I leaned back and smiled a little. I couldn't break a promise to my children, now can I?

More notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality and calistra for their reviews and support!


	46. Epilogue Part 2

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Sasha/X5-121, etc.).

Notes: This part takes place a day before chapter 23 of "Together." Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "Proof of Purchase."

**Epilogue – Part 2: Alec (X5-494)**

I pulled my car up to the curb and shut off the engine and took a good look around. Oh yeah, back in beautiful old Seattle. Are you some kind of glutton for punishment, Alec? Remember what happened the last time that you were here? White, almost getting your head blown off, Max and Becky having to save your ass…that whole deal. I shrugged mentally. I wonder if either Max or Becky are still here in Seattle. Why? So they could make your life miserable?

I shook my head as I got out of the car and started to walk down the street. Okay, maybe they wouldn't purposefully make my life miserable, not even Max. Max might be a huge bitch, but I have the feeling that she's a good person deep down. To be perfectly honest, Max in a lot of ways reminds me of 121.

My mood plummeted and I sighed. The enthusiasm that had rubbed off on me from 334 all those weeks ago was definitely long gone. Okay, I'll admit it. I'm lonely. It's not like I've lacked companionship, especially of the female variety and at night, but I haven't seen my best friends in almost two months. I haven't joked around with them, I haven't traded rude remarks, I haven't even caught a glimpse of them. It wasn't for a lack of looking, that was for sure. I could understand why. It was kind of critical at this point not to be found, not to mention that 121 had two extra reasons not to stay on the proverbial radar. Even so, I missed the hell out of them.

My stomach grumbled and I chuckled. I might miss my best friends like nobody's business, but I still needed to eat. I looked up and saw a small Italian place just down the block. Not bad. I've always liked Italian food and a good chicken parm hero sounded pretty good. I walked over to the restaurant and went inside and sat down. This wasn't too horrible by post-Pulse standards. It was clean enough at any rate. I looked up and saw a sign on the wall. Owner, blah blah blah, manager, blah blah blah, assistant manager…I blinked. J. McGrath. Nah, it couldn't be 941. I know that he'd said that he'd liked the alias from that mission, but that was awhile ago and this J could easily stand for another name other than Jeffrey. Yikes, Alec, you must really be missing your friends. Somebody has a name similar to an alias that the kid had on a mission and you think it's him. Yeah, right.

"This is terrible," a woman sitting a few booths down from me said in disgust. Ah, now there's a nice distraction. Not the woman. She was about twenty or more years too old for my tastes and she'd obviously let herself go in middle age, but it's amusing to watch people act like complete idiots sometimes. I twisted around so that I could get a peek at her and sized her up. Yep, anal retentive to boot. It's probably a fork or a knife with a speck of dirt in it. Either that or she thinks what is actually pepper in her food is really dust or something. The woman raised her voice. "Excuse me, I would like to speak to the manager if that's at all possible!" Loosen up, lady. A few moments later, the swinging doors leading to the kitchen swung open and my jaw almost dropped. Holy crap, it was 941! I watched as he calmly walked over to the woman's booth.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" he asked.

The woman glared at him. "I said I wanted to speak to the manager, not some dumb kid!"

Kid, yes. Dumb, far from it. Trust me on this, lady. 941 just kept on smiling. I got to hand it to him, he does have the temper for this kind of a job. "I'm the assistant manager, ma'am." I saw him point to his name tag. "The manager isn't in right now. Can I help you?"

"Fine," the woman said. "There is dust in my soup!" I barely managed not to laugh. Damn, reading people can be fun.

941 obligingly took a look at the woman's bowl. "Don't worry about it, ma'am. That's pepper, not dust. I was in the kitchen when the chef was preparing your soup. There's no way that it's dust as opposed to pepper."

"How am I supposed to know that?" the woman demanded.

Well, it is easier when you can smell the difference like 941 and I can. "It says so right on the menu, ma'am," 941 said. Man, the kid has patience. "'Our signature chicken soup is topped off with fresh pepper and a sprig of parsley.'" I saw the woman make a face, but she didn't say anything and started to eat her soup.

I snickered a little bit, just loud enough for 941 to hear me. "Nice job, kid." I picked up the menu and started to look at it and sure enough, a few moments later I heard somebody slide into the booth across the table from me. I looked up and saw 941 sitting there, a smile on his own face.

"Thanks," he said. "It's great to see you again, 494."

"It's Alec now," I said. "I'll explain the whole story with that one later. It's a good one. You won't be disappointed by it." I gestured to his name tag. "You re-took the name from the Alaska mission?"

"Yeah, I liked it. It's definitely Jeff from here on out," he said. "When did you get back into Seattle? How long have you been here?"

"Total? Not all that long," I said. "I stayed in the general vicinity for about a week after our old home burned to a crisp and then I got into some trouble and I got out of here and I got back into the city about a week ago. I think I might stay here for awhile this time."

Jeff looked at me thoughtfully. "Are you okay, Alec? You look tired."

I shook my head. "I'm not tired. I'm just feeling a little lonely. I haven't seen 511 or 121 since the night of the fire. I didn't see either of them as we were getting the hell out of there. Good grief, it was insane that night."

"To say the least," Jeff agreed. He looked down. "I lost 761 that night. He took one right in the neck from one of the X7s that were on perimeter duty."

"I'm sorry," I said. I shook my head. "I don't know how many of my unit made it over the fence that night. We were pretty scattered through the building at the time of the fire. I don't even know if 511 or 121 made it out. I hope that they did and I'm confident that they made it out, but I don't know. It was so chaotic that night."

"Tell me about it," Jeff said quietly.

"So, how have you been?" I asked. "Have you met back up with anybody from your unit? How long have you been here in the city?"

"I haven't been in the city all that long," Jeff replied. "As for my unit mates, I've made contact with 252, 583, 437, 312, and 111, now known as Riley, Dustin, Vance, Wes, and Christian, respectively."

I slapped my forehead. "Shit, I almost forgot." I grabbed a pen out of my jeans pocket and wrote a phone number down on a napkin and slid it over to Jeff. "The night of the fire, I somehow ended up on the other side of the fence with an X5 originally from the Wyoming facility and your unit mate 334. Before the three of us split up, she got a cell phone number and asked me if I ever ran into you to give it to you. There it is."

"Thank you," Jeff said gratefully. He took the napkin and stuck it in his pants pocket. "How is she doing?"

"Other than the fact that she still has a weak stomach when it comes to blood, she seemed to be doing well the last time that I saw her," I said.

Jeff chuckled a little. "Yeah, that's 334 for you."

"Um, excuse me? Is the manager here?" a male voice said behind us. Jeff and I looked over and saw a guy about my age with a messenger bag slung over one shoulder talking to a waitress.

"Nah, the manager ain't here right now, but the kid is," she replied. She jerked her thumb in Jeff's direction. "He's the assistant manager. He'll help you. Who the fuck are you, anyway?"

"Oh, sorry, Jam Pony Messenger," he said. He walked over to Jeff and me and took something out of his bag and handed it to Jeff. "Jam Pony Messenger. I have a delivery for a Fred Ross for this address?"

"Fred's the manager, but he's not here. I'll accept it for him, though. He should be in this evening," Jeff said. "Do I need to sign anything?"

"Yeah, just a sec," the guy said. He took a clipboard and handed it to Jeff, who signed it. "Thanks for reminding me, man. If my boss sees that I forgot to get a signature again, he'll shit kittens."

"Sounds lovely," I remarked.

"He's really not that bad. He's just kind of uptight most of the time," the guy said. He held out his hand. "Calvin Theodore, but everybody calls me Sketchy."

I grinned. I liked this guy. "Alec McDowell. Have a seat."

"Sure," Sketchy said. He sat down next to me. "Are you on your break, dude?"

"Only unofficially," Jeff said.

"I hear ya," Sketchy said understandingly. "That's everybody at Jam Pony when we're not out on a run."

"You know, I just got into the city and I'm looking for a place to work," I said. A messenger service sounds pretty good, especially considering the all-access sector pass that Sketchy was sporting. "What's this place like?"

"It's pretty cool," Sketchy said. "Our boss Normal and don't ask about the name because I have no idea where it came from like I said is uptight, but everybody who works there is cool. The hours are decent and the pay is as good as a job like bicycle messenger could be. Not that it's much, but it's decent enough. If you're lucky, you'll get tips." He grinned. "Like I said, the people who work there are great. Two of them I've been friends with for a few years now. Max and Original Cindy."

"Max? What's he like?" Jeff asked. I was crossing my fingers underneath the table and praying that the Max that Sketchy was talking about really was a guy and not the Max that I knew.

"Max is a she," Sketchy said. "She's pretty cool. She actually had a heart transplant about five months or so ago, but she came back here about two months ago and she seems fine." Damn, it was her. I knew it. Sketchy grinned. "We also got this new girl about the same time that Max came back. Holy shit, this girl is smoking! You guys will go nuts."

"Oh? I believe we need details," I said.

"Sure," Sketchy said. He held his hand up. "Her name's Becky. She's about this tall, blond hair, grey eyes, a rocking body, and she is just a complete babe." He sighed dejectedly. "The only drawback to her is that she's not eighteen yet. But hey, Jeff, that would make her perfect for you. Are you eighteen yet?"

"Not until December," Jeff said. He had a thoughtful look on his face. I had a pretty good feeling that he was thinking about Becky. I wondered if he had told her how he felt about her yet. Then again, if the look on his face and his body language was any indication, I'd put my money on no. He's still head over heels for her. That was loud and clear.

"I'd like to meet her," I said. "And this Max and Original Cindy." What the hell. If this job gets me a sector pass and can allow me to go whenever wherever in this city, then it'll be worth having to spend almost everyday with Max and Becky. "I think that I just might have to come work there, Sketchy."

"Awesome!" Sketchy said happily. "You wanna come back with me right now?"

I thought for a few moments and then I shook my head. "I can't. I've got some business that I need to take care of. You know, settling in stuff. I'll be by in a few days at the most. I promise."

"Great," Sketchy said. "In the mean time, there's a bar called Crash that we all hang out at after work." He pointed his thumb in a direction. "It's a few blocks over that way. We go there almost every night to chill. Either of you guys wanna come?"

"Tonight doesn't look too good for me, but definitely tomorrow night," I said.

"Same here," Jeff said. "I'll definitely go tomorrow night."

"Perfect. Meet me over by the entrance at around nine-thirty," Sketchy said. He looked at his watch. "I should be getting back to Jam Pony soon."

Jeff stood up. "Give me a sec before you go." He went back towards the kitchens and came back out a few minutes later holding a paper bag. He handed the bag to Sketchy. "Consider this a tip. I hope that you like eggplant parm heroes."

"I do, thanks a lot," Sketchy said gratefully. He put his clipboard and lunch away in his messenger bag and he got up and shook hands with myself and Jeff. "I'll see you guys tomorrow night." He left the restaurant.

"He seems like a nice guy," Jeff said. He looked contemplative. "My age, blond hair, grey eyes, that tall…if I didn't know any better, I'd say that he was pretty much describing 405."

"Then you must not know shit because that's exactly who he was describing," I said.

His eyes widened. "405—what did he say her name was? Becky? She's actually in Seattle?"

"Yeah, she's been here since the fire, I think," I said.

"How do you know?" Jeff asked.

"She and Max got me out of a tight spot about a week after we left the old home," I said. "I got into underground cage fighting a few days after I got out of there, it was the night after 334 and 601 and I went our separate ways. Later that week, I got spotted by the people who are in charge of finding us and cleaning this mess up." Jeff knew exactly what I meant. I sighed and continued. "This NSA agent, his name is Ames White, he told me that he implanted a micro-explosive near my brain stem and he would set it off if I didn't assassinate five transgenics and bring them their barcodes as proof, so there went any chance I had of playing his sorry ass. I did get two of the anomalies and then I went over to Terminal City figuring that I would find more of them. The first transgenic I ran into, though, wasn't an anomaly but an X6. He wasn't any random X6 either. He happened to be X6-115. Just my luck, huh? At any rate, I couldn't kill him. I just couldn't. I made up a story about how he was in trouble and I sliced off his barcode so I could try to pass it off to White that I had actually killed him and I dumped 115 in front of a hospital. Fortunately for him, Becky and Max happened to be the first people to find him. 115—who's going by Kyle now—had heard me mumble about White and then the three of them found me and Max and Becky went and we got myself as well as this X8 and X9 that White had captured, out of the jam." I snorted. "That micro-explosive? It was a fucking dud."

"I'm sorry," Jeff said. He frowned. "Wait a sec, who is Max?"

"Max is the infamous X5-452," I said.

"Oh," Jeff said. He thought for a few moments and then shrugged and smiled. "Cool."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean you never had a grudge or anything like that against her or her brothers and sisters for running away back in '09?"

Jeff shrugged again. "No. I never saw the point in hating them like most of us did. I did get put in Psy Ops for three months when they escaped like the rest of the five and six C.O.s, but it wasn't as if Max or 599 or 210 of any of them physically went up to any of us, threw us in the room, and strapped us into those damn chairs themselves. They ran, but the trainers, Marshall, Lydecker and Warren were the ones who made the decision to put us into Psy Ops and they were the ones who strapped us in and tortured us for the however many months that we were there."

I nodded. I swear, it amazed me how mature and how calm Jeff was. He might be seven years younger than 908 and 786, but the two of them could never achieve that level of calmness and maturity that Jeff already had. "If a lot of people back home thought the way that you do, it would have saved so many people a lot of grief."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Jeff said. We were quiet for a few moments and then Jeff smiled. "I'm guessing that you didn't come in here just for a chat. What do you want?"

"Chicken parm hero," I said. Jeff got back up and started to go back to the kitchens. "Hey, Jeff?"

Jeff paused and walked back over to the booth. "What is it, Alec?"

"I was going to pull off a job on this bank downtown late tonight," I said. "It's over in Sector 9 so there's going to be plenty for the taking. I've got all the recon done and everything but it will still be easier if it's a two-person op. You wanna pull it off with me? We'll split what we grab fifty-fifty."

"That sounds like fun," Jeff said. He grinned. "I'd be happy to join. Just let me know where to rendezvous with you and I'll be there."

"Not a problem," I said. I told Jeff where to meet me. "Be there at twelve-thirty a.m. sharp."

"Will do," Jeff said. "I'll go get your sandwich." He went back into the kitchen and I sat back, smiling. It was great to meet up with Jeff again. He wasn't one of my best friends, but he had the potential to become one. I also had a potential new friend and who knows? Maybe I'd even become friends with Max and Becky. I still missed the hell out of 511 and 121, but I felt energized again. I'd find them someday. And in the meantime…well, hopefully the meantime wouldn't be boring.

The end!

More notes: Thank you so much to everybody who has reviewed this fic: CrimsonReality, calistra, Angel of Darkness231, jracklesfan77, Yeoman1000, and angelofdarkness78! If there's somebody that I've forgotten, I'm sorry! As for what happens to Alec, Sasha, Biggs, and the others, Alec, Sasha, and Jeff (941) play big roles in "Together" (the sequel to this fic, though I actually wrote that fic first and it starts alongside the end of this one), Biggs re-appears in "All of Us" (the sequel to "Together"), and 849 and 228 (who in case anybody is wondering is Gem and CeCe) show up again in "What's Next?", which is the sequel to "All of Us" and is a work-in-progress. Pictures of at least most of the characters from this fic and others in the AU fic series as well as other fics in the series that aren't posted here are on my website. The link to it is on my user profile here. I can't thank you enough for everything! Happy reading!


End file.
